US says it ‘will not hesitate’ to sanction Georgia

The ‘foreign agents’ law fundamentally alters relations between Washington and Tbilisi, the State Department’s spokesman has stressed

Washington will not think twice before imposing individual sanctions against Georgian officials in response to the foreign agent transparency law which has been introduced by the former Soviet republic, the US State Department has said.

The legislation, officially known as the Transparency of Foreign Influence Act, came into force on Monday, following street protests and a standoff between the Georgian government and the country’s pro-Western president, Salome Zourabichvili. It requires NGOs, media outlets and individuals which receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as entities “promoting the interests of a foreign power” and disclose their donors.

The new law “moves Georgia away from its democratic trajectory and could stigmatize civil society and stifle the freedoms of association and expression,” US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said during a briefing on Monday.

The actions taken by Tbilisi “fundamentally alter the US relationship with Georgia,” Miller said. Washington has launched a review of its ties with the Caucasus nation, which is an EU and NATO hopeful, he added.

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Georgia’s ‘foreign agents’ law comes into force

“We’ve announced a new sanctions policy [against Georgia]. We have not yet announced individual sanctions… but we have made clear that we would not hesitate to impose them,” the spokesman warned.

In late May, the administration of US President Joe Biden said that it will begin restricting visas for Georgian politicians who played a role in the country passing the ‘foreign agents’ law.

Mamuka Mdinaradze, who leads the ruling Georgian Dream party in parliament, voiced her incredulity at the US move, saying that “it is unprecedented and at the same time comical to sanction a lawmaker elected by the people for adopting a law at their discretion.” Mdinaradze stressed that “national independence is not sold for a visa.” 

On Monday, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said during a cabinet meeting that the introduction of the ‘foreign agent’ law “should not be seen as a victory for the government or a defeat for the law’s opponents or international partners.” 

“Only the ill-wishers of our country” are those who have been defeated by the new legislation, Kobakhidze insisted. Now, when the law has come into force, all political powers in the country should “act pragmatically… and put unnecessary emotions aside,” he urged.

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According to the Georgian authorities, within the next 60 days the country's justice ministry is going to prepare the necessary paperwork and set up a special online portal where foreign agents wound have to register. Entities and individuals who fail to submit their data will face fines of up to $9,500.