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The U.S. State Department responded to questions about the potential sanctions against Georgia, where security forces have been dispersing protests for several consecutive days against the government’s refusal to raise the issue of negotiations for EU membership.
This was stated by U.S. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller during a briefing.
Miller was asked about the possibility of new sanctions in light of the restrictive measures imposed by the governments of Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia.
In response, the State Department representative said that he would not discuss sanctions in advance and that “when we have a statement on this matter, we make it.”
“However, despite this, you have already seen how we imposed sanctions on Georgian officials. You have seen how we imposed visa restrictions. You have seen how we took other measures, such as suspending the disbursement of 95 million dollars we provided to the Georgian government,” Miller noted.
At the same time, he emphasized that the U.S. “has clearly made it known” that it is concerned about the Georgian government’s actions “to veer away from the path toward greater integration with Europe, which they have been on and which, as we know, is supported by the Georgian people.”
The three Baltic States – Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia – had earlier jointly agreed to impose national sanctions against those “involved in suppressing legitimate protests in Georgia.”
Among those sanctioned were Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri and the honorary leader of the ruling party “Georgian Dream,” Bidzina Ivanishvili.
Subsequently, Canada also announced the imposition of its own restrictive measures against Georgia.
Read also: In Tbilisi, 44 people were injured during a protest.
