Deputy PM: US sanctions against Georgian Dream party members – wrong decision

Georgian Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture, Sports and Youth Thea Tsulukiani has said that the US sanctions imposed against members of the Georgian Dream party are a mistake.

“The Georgian government poses a problem for Washington. The Georgian authorities never took steps against the strategic partnership with the US in any sphere. The Georgian side would wait patiently until Washington decides to talk to us in a friendly manner and refuse to finance the revolution,” Caliber.Az reports citing the Georgian media.

“The imposition of sanctions is another mistake that the US is making in relation to its strategic partners. Perhaps, this is not the first mistake. We must assume that other mistakes will be made,” she added.

Georgian opposition parties have pledged to form a “pro-European” coalition as the government’s controversial “foreign influence” bill came into law.

Georgia’s parliamentary speaker signed off on the legislation, meaning that the law, which has caused a political crisis in the South Caucasus country over recent weeks and drawn sharp criticism from its Western allies, has now taken effect.

Critics of the law, including President Salome Zourabichvili, say that the law disrupts Georgia’s ambitions to join the European Union. They insist that the governing Georgian Dream party is seeking to move the country closer to Russia. Massive protests have called for the bill to be dumped. The EU and the United States have also slammed the bill.

However, Speaker of Parliament Shalva Papuashvili signed the bill into law after the Parliament voted  to overcome the president’s veto, which was largely symbolic.