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Kobakhidze Welcomes Trump Administration’s Suspension of Foreign Funding

Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze welcomed President Trump’s recent decision to suspend all foreign funding for three months, saying that he hoped the funding would not resume for a long time. He said this will “contribute to the stable development of our country”, adding that “this is a black day for the radical opposition”.

“The most interesting thing is the statements of the new U.S. government regarding this funding. They directly stated that their predecessors used these grants, foreign funding, to cause unrest in various countries, to organize revolutions, to destabilize countries. This is a very important statement,” said Kobakhidze commenting with journalists.

He also recalled past political turmoil in Georgia, particularly during the adoption of the foreign agents law. Recalling the anti-Foreign Agents’ law protests in 2023 and 2024 he alleged that the GD’s “demand for transparency in foreign grants led to two attempts at revolutions.” He added: “We cannot allow attempts to destabilize our country to be financed from outside.”

Kobakhidze accused the former U.S. administration of financing “revolutionary processes and unrest” in Georgia. In this context he mentioned the USAID and specifically the training program by the Center for Applied Nonviolent Actions and Strategies (CANVAS) in September 2022, claiming it taught activists “how to bulldoze government buildings.” He reiterated the narrative about the alleged four revolution attempts in Georgia in 2020-2024.

In an apparent attempt to demonstrate the alleged affinity between the new U.S. administration and the Georgian Dream Kobakhidze claimed : “What we have been talking about for the last three years, and therefore accused of being pro-Russian and anti-Western, the new [US] administration is repeating word for word today.” He said this includes “the statements about Ukraine; that Ukraine has been sacrificed and for what, that’s a big question mark”.

He further noted: “We have great hope that the ‘Deep State’ will finally be defeated in the U.S., and in such a case, the approach towards Georgia will change completely. We want to renew our strategic partnership from a clean slate with a specific roadmap, which will reflect tangible results for both sides.”

On January 22, the Georgian Dream parliamentary majority Leader Mamuka Mdinaradze also weighed in on the U.S. new administration decision to suspend the foreign funding and similarly to Kobakhidze, tied it to the Foreign Agents’ law. Mdinaradze noted that in light of this decision, the Agents law “may no longer be needed.” He added: “This decision will have the effect that we may no longer need the Transparency Law. This also confirms that the ‘Transparency Act’ was not only good, but necessary.”


The adoption of the foreign agents law in Georgia sparked significant unrest, with thousands of demonstrators protesting the repressive bill. The bill was first introduced in 2023, then recalled by the GD as a results of mass protests, with a promise not to re-introduce it. One year later, in spring 2004 GD reintroduced the law in the Parliament. Despite strong opposition from both local and international partners, the law was ultimately passed. The ruling Georgian Dream party has actively used narrative on “Deep State” and the “Global War Party,” alleging that unnamed foreign forces demonstrate increasingly “anti-Georgian” positions. According to the party’s narrative, “every single politician and bureaucrat who makes anti-Georgian statements—be they presidents, prime ministers, parliamentarians, members of the European Parliament, diplomats, or officials—is a member of the ‘deep state’ network.”

Relations between Georgia and the U.S. have significantly deteriorated amidst Georgia’s democratic decline. The controversial law’s passage was followed by allegations of rigged parliamentary elections and Kobakhidze’s announcement to halt Georgia’s EU integration process. On November 30, a U.S. State Department spokesperson confirmed the suspension of the U.S.-Georgia Strategic Partnership. U.S. Congressman Joe Wilson, Chair of the Helsinki Commission, rejected Georgian Dream’s claims that relations would improve under Donald Trump’s administration. Wilson emphasized that “President Donald Trump has made it very clear where he stands on the self-professed enemies of America.

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This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)

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