Georgians say that they see their future with Europe. It is a good idea, but the weakening of Georgia and its democracy will not bring it a European future, but a future under the control of the Kremlin, - former American diplomat, senior researcher of the "Atlantic Council" Daniel Fried said in "Tbilisi Rums", where the McCain Institute, the George Bush Institute and the Economic The Policy Research Center (EPRC) is hosting the 8th Tbilisi International Conference, entitled "Transitional Year".
According to him, it is not clear how the "law on transparency of foreign influence" will help Georgia's sovereignty. According to Fried, if the ruling power cannot win elections fairly, then "Foreign Agents Law is just like a way to cheat."
"I do not understand and no one has explained to me how the law of "foreign agents" will help the sovereignty and strength of Georgia. The sovereignty of Georgia depends on the living democracy of the country, the strength of the Georgian people keeps the country independent. Russia is willing to wage wars to rebuild its empire. Why is it in Georgia's interest to attack political parties and declare them illegal?! This is something I do not understand and has not been explained. Georgian Dream won the elections free and fair, they defeated the United National Movement and did not need the "Foreign Agents" law or the outlawing of any party to win. If they win fairly, fine, but if they don't, the "foreign agent" law just looks like a way to cheat. I don't think Georgian people will accept it. Georgia's strength is based on Georgia's democracy, and Americans don't really want to think about Georgia losing its democracy and becoming another autocratic country that will eventually fall under Russian rule.
The United States of America makes mistakes all the time, but we did not invade Georgia, we did not announce a boycott of Georgian products, we did not occupy part of Georgia, we did not bomb Gori. Russia has done all this and Georgians do not need any American to tell them this. So, which country threatens Georgia's sovereignty - the one that helped it and wants to help it, or the one that invaded Georgia? "Georgian Dream" talks about the war party, but who started the Russia-Georgia war? Not the United States, who started the Russia-Ukraine war? - Ukraine did not attack Russia first, did not try to annex its territories. So the war party is Putin. He sees war as a way to rebuild his empire. Georgians say that they see their future with Europe. It's a good idea, but the weakening of Georgia and its democracy will not bring it a European future, but a future under the control of the Kremlin," said Daniel Fried.
According to him, America will observe the results of the elections in Georgia in order to take further measures.
"The USA and Europe cannot tell Georgia what to do, our leverage is limited. The question of sanctions often arises. It is sad to think that after years of aid, an effort to impose sanctions on Georgia might be made. The US is watching the upcoming elections, and Georgian Dream may win or lose, and may cheat. The US and Europe will have to make decisions based on the results of this election. The best solution would be free and fair elections.
No one wants to go through sanctions, but the US and Europe have the tools to do so if necessary. I hope it won't, and the Biden administration hopes it won't need to. But I must point out that certain actions and statements of the Georgian government show the intention to bring the issues to a confrontation.
I understand that some Georgians think that the USA should act now and before the elections, warn the Georgian government not to cheat. From what I understand, the Biden administration and the State Department are thinking about what they can do. I can't talk about the details, but I think they are considering what they can do even before the elections," Fried said.
