Georgia loses $95 million in aid from USA

The United States is suspending a $95 million aid programme to Georgia as Washington is reviewing cooperation over Tbilisi's adoption of the law on foreign agents, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said, Reuters reports.

"The Georgian government's anti-democratic actions and false statements are incompatible with membership norms in the EU and NATO," Blinken stated and promised that Washington would continue to provide assistance that would help Georgian citizens.

Georgia's ruling Georgian Dream Party passed the law on foreign agents in the spring of this year. The Georgian opposition, the United States and the European Union harshly criticised the law and warned that it would hamper Tbilisi's bilateral relations with the West.

“This is, frankly, legislation that looks like it’s right out of the Kremlin’s playbook, a targeting of humanitarian organizations, NGOs, human rights defenders, journalists. And so this is something we’ll certainly be paying close attention to, but I don’t have any updates beyond that,” State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said in late July.

Earlier, US Under Secretary of State for Civilian Security, Democracyб and Human Rights Uzra Zeya said that In addition to the decision to postpone the Noble Partner 2024 military exercises indefinitely, the United States froze aid to Georgia. According to her, the United States is concerned about the actions of the Georgian authorities that undermine the country's Euro-Atlantic path.

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili signed the law on foreign agents on June 3. According to him, the law is aimed at strengthening the country's political, economic and social position against external interference.