Vedant Patel, First Deputy Spokesperson of the US State Department, answered the question about the situation in Georgia during the briefing. Protests against the 'Transparency of Foreign Influence' law do not stop in Tbilisi, however, the parliament is actually – has actually pushed through the foreign entities law despite the mass protests and the warnings from the U.S. and the EU.
"So we are aware of the status of this legislation. We’re continuing to watch closely about further developments in Georgia. Assistant Secretary Jim O’Brien is Tbilisi; he spent the day meeting with Georgian officials. And I imagine he’ll have more to say after the conclusion of his engagements.
But you heard me talk a little bit about this yesterday: More than 80 percent of the Georgian people want EU membership, and we support that aspiration. We also know that the Georgian Government has said it wants to join the EU and have a relationship with a transatlantic organization such as NATO. This is something that is consistent with Georgia’s own constitution. But things like this legislation, they are inconsistent with that stated goal.
So we value our relationship that – and partnership we have with Georgia, one that has existed for more than 30 years, and we would like to continue to deepen that collaboration. And there is still time to work collaboratively, but it’s our point of view that the Georgian Government needs to change course from the one that it’s on. But again, I imagine Assistant Secretary O’Brien and others will have more to talk about about their engagements," Patel said.
