US welcomes withdrawal of Georgia draft law on 'foreign influence'
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State Department Ned Price said his country approved of Georgia's decision to withdraw the draft law on "foreign influence".
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Protesters with Georgian national flags rally against a draft law aimed at curbing the influence of "foreign agents" near the Georgian parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia, March 9, 2023 (AP Photo)
The United States applauds the Georgian parliament's decision to withdraw the drafted law on "foreign influence" and cautions against similar legislation in the future because it is allegedly "incompatible" with Tbilisi's Euro-Atlantic ambitions, State Department spokesman Ned Price said Thursday.
"While we welcome the decision to withdraw the draft law on 'foreign influence,' we urge the ruling party to officially retract this bill and not to further this type of legislation, precisely because it's incompatible with Georgian and Euro Atlantic values and the protection of fundamental freedoms," Price told a press conference.
Additionally, Price added that the US urged the Georgian authorities to cooperate on the reforms required for accession to the EU.
Georgians Protest against Bill on "Foreign influence"
In a first reading vote on Tuesday, the Georgian parliament approved a law on the transparency of foreign influence 76 to 13.
The statute calls for compiling a list of people and organizations that receive funding from overseas.
The opposition staged massive protests against the bill because they believed it would enable the government to repress the activity of activists and non-governmental organizations throughout the nation.
Check out: What is happening in Georgia?
The foreign influence law has been removed from parliament, according to the ruling Georgian party, and all demonstrators who had been jailed have been freed.
Read more: Protests in Georgia continue after 'foreign agents' bill withdrawal
Following the announcement of voting results in Georgia's parliament on Tuesday, clashes erupted near the parliament building between special forces and demonstrators who had gathered earlier in the day to protest the bill, injuring several law enforcement officers and protesters.
Following the government's announcement, protesters were seen outside waving EU flags, which Georgia applied to join in March 2022. US and Ukraine flags were also seen among the group of protesters.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday that the United States has had a law since 1938 mandating the registration of entities lobbying foreign interests.
Zakharova wrote on Telegram that "it is now clear why the US is still not in the EU. This law [on foreign agents] has been in effect since 1938."
The United States Foreign Agents Registration Act, enacted in 1938, requires any individual or entity who becomes an "agent of a foreign principal" to disclose their affiliations, related activities, and finances, with penalties for violations.
