The US is imposing additional restrictions on Georgian authorities
The US State Department has announced the introduction of visa restrictions for about 20 Georgian citizens. The sanctions target high-ranking officials, members of parliament, law enforcement and intelligence officers, and private individuals. They are accused of violating “democratic norms.”
“The United States strongly condemns the Georgian Dream party’s ongoing brutal and unjustified violence against Georgian citizens, including protesters, media representatives, human rights activists, and opposition figures. Georgian Dream has turned its back on the Euro-Atlantic future for Georgia that the Georgian people overwhelmingly desire and that the Georgian constitution envisions. We are committed to ensuring that senior officials responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy are subject to visa restrictions,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
Washington also announced that additional restrictive measures are being prepared. Prior to this, sanctions had already been imposed on more than 100 people associated with the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Earlier, the US suspended its strategic partnership with Georgia. It is noted that the decision to freeze Georgia's accession talks to the EU rejects "the possibility of closer ties with Europe and has made Tbilisi more vulnerable to the Kremlin."
