Blinken: Georgia’s democratic retreat must be addressed with sanctions

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed deep concern over the "rollback of democracy" in Georgia.

He emphasised that the imposition of sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili, the chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, and other government officials is a direct consequence of the actions of the Georgian government, Caliber.Az reports referring to Georgian media.

Speaking at a joint press conference with French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot in Paris, Blinken said, “As far as Georgia is concerned, we also talked about it. And what both France and the United States have seen is a rollback of democracy, which is deeply troubling. And not just a retreat from democracy, but a retreat from the aspirations of the overwhelming majority of the Georgian people, from the aspiration to build a future that will be closer and closer to Europe.”

Earlier, the US Treasury Department had imposed sanctions on Ivanishvili for allegedly undermining Georgia’s democratic and Euro-Atlantic future in favour of the interests of the Russian Federation. Blinken noted that the October 2024 parliamentary elections in Georgia “raised a lot of questions,” further fueling concerns over the country’s political trajectory.

“We and our partners have taken action,” Blinken continued. “Having seen this rollback, having seen a government acting against the clear will of the people it is supposed to represent, having seen elections that raised a lot of questions, having seen repressive actions by the government against people who are trying to speak freely and openly, we and our partners have taken action.”

Blinken highlighted that the United States had imposed sanctions on Ivanishvili and some members of the Georgian government, as well as suspending US aid to the Georgian authorities in response to the government’s repressive actions.

Additionally, Blinken explained that the US and its partners, including France, had launched the OSCE Vienna Mechanism to address the legislation that severely limits freedom of expression and civil society action in Georgia. “We’ve made it clear that the steps being taken must be changed,” he said.

Blinken concluded, “So I think you see a clear unity around the goals when it comes to the US, France, and many other countries facing very unfortunate government actions in Georgia.”

By Tamilla Hasanova