On Saturday, Shalva Papuashvili, the Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, expressed regret over the US Treasury Department’s announcement of sanctions against Georgian Interior Ministry officials, calling it an attempt by the “defeated” US Administration to “attack the Georgian people and government” in its final days.
“This is a serious stain on Georgian-American relations, particularly in terms of our law enforcement and security system,” Papuashvili remarked. He added that it was “unfortunate” that after the defeat in the 2024 US presidential elections, the outgoing Administration, which had lost its legitimacy in the eyes of the American people, was harming relations with Georgia on behalf of the American public.
In his comments to the press, Papuashvili suggested that the visa restrictions and sanctions were being used as “instruments of coercion by various political groups, both internally and externally.” Despite these threats, he emphasized that “Georgia is still moving forward,” and argued that such decisions would not harm the Georgian people. “The only thing these decisions harm is the reputation of the countries and governments that impose them,” he added.
Papuashvili also praised Vakhtang Gomelauri, Georgia’s Interior Minister, one of the officials targeted by the sanctions, and other law enforcement officers for maintaining a “safe environment in Georgia, not just for Georgians but also for foreign citizens, diplomats, and all our guests.”
He concluded by highlighting the recent US State Department’s Country Reports on Terrorism, which noted that “Georgia continued its robust counterterrorism efforts in 2023 and remained a strong US security partner.”
