US imposes visa restrictions against Georgian officials, lawmakers

The US authorities are imposing visa restrictions on about 20 people in Georgia, including high-ranking officials and lawmakers, for allegedly violating democratic norms and are preparing additional sanctions, US State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said, reported from TASS.

"The Department of State is announcing additional action today under the visa restriction policy that prohibits visa issuance to those who are responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Georgia," the document said. "Today’s action will affect approximately twenty individuals, including individuals serving as government ministers and in Parliament, law enforcement and security officials, and private citizens," the US State Department emphasized, without specifying the names and positions of these individuals.

The statement pointed out that "the United States strongly condemns the Georgian Dream party’s ongoing, brutal, and unjustified violence against Georgian citizens, including protesters, members of the media, human rights activists, and opposition figures." The State Department believes that the Georgian Dream has "turned away from Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future," which is supposedly desired by the vast majority of its citizens. "We are committed to seeing that senior officials responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy will be subject to visa restrictions," the document underscored.

The statement said that the US was "preparing additional actions, including sanctions." The department specified that earlier the US side had imposed restrictions affecting more than 100 people. These are people associated with Georgian Dream, as well as members of their families.

On November 30, the State Department announced that the United States had suspended its strategic partnership with Georgia. This followed Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze’s statement on November 28, when he said that the ruling Georgian Dream — Democratic Georgia party had decided to postpone any talks on starting EU accession negotiations until the end of 2028 and to refuse any funding from the organization. According to the prime minister, the decision comes after regular EU blackmail in connection with the talks, along with demands to repeal some recent laws and sanction Georgian officials. This decision of the authorities caused mass protests in Georgia, which are still ongoing.



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