The purpose of Georgia's law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence" is to prevent a Ukraine-style coup following the results of the parliamentary election in the country October.
The Georgian Parliament is considering the draft law "On Transparency of Foreign Influence". On 13 May, the profile committee of the Parliament of Georgia approved the law in third reading. The Parliament will gather for a plenary session on 14 May to adopt it. President Salome Zurabishvili's veto will thus be overcome.
US Assistant Secretary of State and Head of the State Department's Office of Sanctions Coordination Jim O'Brien paid a visit to Tbilisi on Tuesday, 14 May. In the capital of Georgia, he met with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze.
Kobakhidze said that the founder and honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, refused to have a meeting with O'Brien.
According to the prime minister, Ivanishvili will not hold any meetings under blackmail and threats of sanctions. Blackmail concerns Georgia's accession to the EU, while sanctions refer to $2 billion frozen in Ivanishvili's accounts.
"We will not obey external directives nor will we give in to demands of the Global War Party," Kobakhidze said adding that 60 percent of the population of Georgia supported the foreign agents law.
It is absolutely clear that O'Brien will give Tbilisi an ultimatum.
If the authorities do not accept it, the situation will develop according to the Ukrainian Maidan coup technology. We will see whether Georgia can cope with the threat.
Meanwhile, the Georgian State Security Service arrested a criminal group that was planning explosions on the territory of the country. According to the department, seven Georgian citizens, three from Ukraine and two from Armenia, were involved in the importation of explosive devices, while Ukrainian MP Andriy Sharashidze acted as the organiser of the process. It turned out that the same people had previously tried to coordinate an attack on the Russian embassy in Yerevan in 2022.
Georgia is not a pro-Russian country, even though its foreign policy has been balanced lately. Washington is not happy about it because other countries may want to control their foreign policies as well and turn to Russia for cheap resources and large sales markets.
The parliamentary elections in Georgia, scheduled for October this year, will show whether the Americans can to bring to power those who can stand up against Russia again. Georgia's new foreign agents law is designed to prevent such a development.