Georgia's EU dream suspended, Washington to change power in former Soviet state

Georgia's accession to the European Union has been suspended, and Washington will seek a change of power in the country following the results of the parliamentary elections in October. The decision will come into force following the adoption of the new law on foreign agents, according to which NPOs and mass media are required to register if they receive more than 20 percent of their funding comes from abroad.

EU Ambassador to Georgia Pavel Gerchinsky spoke to reporters in Tbilisi on July 9. He said that the European Union froze €30 million that was intended to be transferred to Georgia's Ministry of Defense.

"The intentions of the current Georgian government are unclear to the leaders of the European Union. The Foreign Influence Transparency Act is clearly a step backwards. The anti-Western, anti-European rhetoric is completely incompatible with the declared goal of joining the European Union. Unfortunately, Georgia's accession has been suspended," the official said.

Russian Foreign Intelligence Service releases report on Georgia's future

The Russian Foreign Intelligence Service later released a statement in connection with the decision to suspend Georgia's incorporation into the European Union. According to the department:

The White House has already developed a campaign to discredit the ruling Georgian Dream party. The US will seek to change power in Georgia following the results of the parliamentary elections on October 26.

The US plans to hold the Russian Federation responsible for all the trouble that Georgia is dealing with.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili will play a key role. She will give an interview to the American media, where she will blame the government for the "degradation” of negotiations on Tbilisi's accession to the EU.

American "curators” signalled the Georgian opposition to prepare for protests. The scenario is simple: a "sacred victim” from among protesters will direct the "anger of the people” against the security forces.

Anti-Russian rhetoric about the "catastrophic consequences of Georgia's further development in cooperation with Russia and all the image that Georgia is facing because of those who left Russia snd moved to Georgia may precede anti-government protests.

At the same time, Washington, through Zurabishvili, will prepare voters for "a political surprise from the opposition” that may eventually trigger a "color revolution,” the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service noted.

A conflict between Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and President Zurabishvili broke out in Georgia after the parliament of the country passed the Foreign Influence Transparency Act in May overriding the president's veto. The opposition called it a "Russian” law because of its similarity to the Russian foreign agents legislation. Western states also criticized the law, whereas a number of countries — Estonia, the Netherlands and Sweden — called on the European Union to consider sanctions against Georgia because of the passed act.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington may also take action because of the law.

Georgia will hold parliamentary elections on October 26. At the end of March, Kobakhidze accused Zurabishvili of sabotaging the elections after she vetoed amendments to the Electoral Code that would have transferred powers to the president to elect the chairman and members of the Central Election Commission if parliament failed to do so in two rounds.