July 31 (UPI) — Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday that the United States would pause its $93 million in assistance to the country of Georgia in response to its controversial foreign agent law passed in May.
Blinken called the measure, which labels non-governmental organizations and the media “foreign agents” if they receive most of their budget from Georgia, “anti-democratic.” He added that it threatened the independence of those entities.
The secretary of state had previously announced visa restrictions for Georgia officials after the vote.
“On May 23, after anti-democratic actions by the Georgia government, I announced a comprehensive review of bilateral cooperation between the United States and Georgia,” Blinken said in a statement.
“As a result of that review, the United States is pausing more than $95 million in assistance that directly benefits the government of Georgia. The Georgian government’s anti-democratic actions and false statements are incompatible with membership norms in the [European Union] and NATO.”
Georgia legislators faced waves of protests before and during the passage of the legislation. Tens of thousands crowded outside its Parliament building when the law was passed, despite a presidential veto.
“While we are pausing our assistance to the government of Georgia due to those actions, the United States will continue assistance to programs and activities that benefit the people of Georgia by strengthening democracy, rule of law, independent media and economic development,” Blinken said.
Blinken pointed to 32 years of cooperation between the United States and Georgia since it seceded from the former Soviet Union in the 1990s, including $6.2 billion in assistance to strengthen its democracy and economy.
“We will remain committed to the Georgian people and their Euro-Atlantic aspirations,” Blinken said.