Georgian elites “are turning their backs on a path to the EU and NATO, Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs at the U.S. Department of State, James O’Brien said,
civil.ge reports.
“We are trying to be very clear about what must be done and how important it is because Georgia is asking to join clubs, one of which we are a member [of] and the other one is our key partner. And they don’t get to rewrite the rules of those clubs, so they get to join.”
Regarding U.S. support for Georgia, he noted the US is currently reviewing all of the assistance to Georgia and remarked that the U.S. very much wants “to support everything that will contribute to free and fair elections this fall…” However, the U.S. needs to make clear to the [GD] party that there will be real consequences. “We’ve already postponed a major military exercise, and we’ll continue to review what we are doing as opportunities arise, and I expect we will have something to say about that soon,” he said.
“We are actively considering our options there”, he said speaking of additional steps by the U.S., adding the sanctions would be concerning not only those who benefitted from corruption, but also “those who are involved in violation of human rights, as under the global Magnitsky act…” With respect to further steps to be taken by Congress, O’Brien emphasized that Congress is already developing legislation reviewing U.S. support for Georgia and that the State Department will support these efforts.
The hearing discussed what steps the Georgian government should take to reverse the current backsliding. “It should be clear to the governing party in Georgia that there is a path back. That having free and fair elections, without violence against civil society, making whatever transparency requirements they want, this Foreign Agents law… make be compatible with EU law rather than compatible with Russian law. And not having China develop a deep-water port in Anaklia—these are steps that are really important for Georgia to take,” O’Brien said.
He also noted: “The one group that seems very happy about this turn is Russia. If you look at the recent statements by their chief propagandists, they are welcoming this turn.”
“I want to praise the effort of members of Congress to get out there and deliver the message that, on a bipartisan matter, long-time friends of Georgia believe this is the wrong path. A year ago, we saw signs of the wrong path, and then the governing party reversed its course and made enormous strides. I’m hopeful that can happen again in the next months,” O’Brien concluded.
