US To Sanction Former Georgian Leader Over Opposition To NATO Membership

Authored by Kyle Anzalone via The Libertarian Institute,

Washington is preparing sanctions against former Georgian Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili over his opposition to Tbilisi joining the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union.  

A senior US official told American state media, Voice of America, that Ivanishvili’s growing ties with Russia are concerning the White House. “We have information that Ivanishvili undertook actions to develop relations with Russian oligarchs, took actions to enable Russia to gain better access to the Georgian market,” the official explained. “In fact, he took some actions at the direction of the Russian intelligence services.”

Reuters/The Guardian: Bidzina Ivanishvili (center) flanked by the chair of his Georgian Dream party and former prime minister, Irakli Garibashvili (left), and the current PM, Irakli Kobakhidze, at a rally for their ‘foreign agents’ law in April. 

While Ivanishvili has not personally been involved in Georgian politics since 2013, his populist Georgia Dream party is gaining influence in Tbilisi.

The party has increasingly found itself at odds with Washington over a foreign agents law that was passed in Tbilisi earlier this year. 

Similar to the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) the legalization required agencies operating in Georgia and receiving more than 20% of their funding from foreign sources to register as foreign agents. 

A source familiar with the Biden administration’s plan to sanction Ivanishvili said the move is coming out of frustration that Washington has been unable to move Tbilisi.

“I think the Biden administration has been frustrated by its inability to get the Georgian government to take seriously the position they’ve put themselves in,” a source said.

“The Biden people are trying to convey the seriousness and hope that somebody in the Georgian government is listening in a serious way,” the source added.

In Georgia, US flags have appeared in crowds protesting about laws to restrict foreign influence in the country, The EU and US have condemned the law.

Lets ignore that the Georgian law is far less restrictive than the US “Foriegn Agents Registration Act,” passed there in 1938 pic.twitter.com/X8RDkiXgiA

— Chay Bowes (@BowesChay) May 25, 2024

In 2008, NATO signed a pledge to one day admit Ukraine and Georgia into the Washington-led bloc. However, the Kremlin views the countries’ entrance into the alliance as a national security threat. In 2022, Moscow invaded Ukraine, in part because Kiev was becoming a de facto member of NATO.