Ties between Washington and Georgia frayed after MPs in the ex-Soviet republic passed a controversial ‘foreign agents’ law
The US is setting the stage for a Ukraine-style coup in Georgia by fomenting protests ahead of this autumn’s parliamentary elections, as it is irritated by the country’s efforts to pursue independent policies, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) has said.
In a statement on Monday, the SVR claimed, citing available intel, that the White House “is extremely unhappy” with the situation in Georgia, given that the “Washington-controlled opposition remains fragmented” despite US efforts to consolidate it ahead of the vote scheduled for October 26.
According to the agency, the US is concerned that this will give the ruling Georgian Dream party ample opportunity to continue its sovereign course while resisting Western demands that run counter to national interests.
To reverse the momentum, the US intends to ramp up pressure on the Georgian leadership, including by imposing sanctions on the lawmakers from the ruling party, as well as on their family members and sponsors, the SVR claimed.
At the same time, the US “is preparing a color revolution’” in Georgia, the agency stated, claiming that local Western-aligned NGOs are recruiting more observers to monitor the vote, who are then supposed to accuse the Georgian ruling party of rigging the election.
”On the ‘Tbilisi Maidan’ they plan to reveal ‘evidence of election fraud,’ refuse to recognize the election results and demand a change of power. Law enforcement agencies will be provoked to use force to suppress the protests. At the same time, the Americans are working out options for a ‘knock-down’ political and economic response to the ‘excessive’ use of force by the authorities against ‘peaceful citizens,’” the SVR said in a statement.
Relations between Georgia and the West, particularly the US, soured after Georgia passed a controversial ‘foreign agents’ law, which requires non-profit organizations, media outlets, and individuals who receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as entities “promoting the interests of a foreign power.”
While its supporters have argued that it will help increase media transparency, its critics have branded it ‘the Russian law’ because of its similarities to legislation passed by its neighbor in 2012, though both laws in many ways take after the US Foreign Agents Registration Act of 1938 (FARA).
US President Joe Biden said earlier this month that he was “disappointed” by the legislation, which he described as “undemocratic.” The US State Department has also announced visa restrictions on individuals “responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia, as well as their family members.”
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