TBILISI -- Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has come out swinging against one of his nation’s biggest backers, accusing the United States of making "false" statements over the controversial "foreign agent" law being pushed through parliament.
In his May 3 tweet, Kobakhidze also accused the former U.S. ambassador to Georgia from 2020-23, Kelly Degnan, as well as foreign-funded NGOs of supporting two attempted revolutions.
The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
"It requires a special effort to restart [bilateral] relations against this background, which is impossible without a fair and honest approach," said Kobakhidze, a member of Georgian Dream, the ruling party accused by opponents of being partial to Russia.
SEE ALSO: Georgian Protesters Describe Injuries, Beatings Amid Police CrackdownThe United States has stood up for Georgian independence and territorial integrity since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, allocating more than $6 billion in aid over that period -- from helping small business and diversifying the economy to strengthening the rule of law and democracy. It has also fervently backed Georgia's integration into Western institutions, including the EU.
William Courtney, the U.S. ambassador to Georgia from 1995-97, said that what he called the "hijacking" of Georgia's government by Georgian Dream, a party founded by a billionaire who made his money in Russia, is straining Tbilisi's relations with the United States and the West in general.
"Georgian Dream is trying to take Georgia in the direction of being a Russian satellite like Belarus," he said. "Kobakhidze has been and seems to remain one of the most ardent Georgian proponents of an autocratic future for the country."
Courtney said Kobakhidze's accusation against Degnan and NGOs is a page of the book of authoritarian leaders Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian strongman Alyaksandr Lukashenka.
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Kobakhidze published his tweet following talks with Derek Chollet, the State Department's policy adviser, on May 2. The United States and the EU have been calling on Georgia to withdraw its "foreign agent" law, which is seen mimicking the repressive legislation pushed through by Putin.
The law requires civil-society organizations and media outlets that get foreign funding to report that fact to local authorities and submit to oversight that could encompass sanctions for as-yet-undefined criminal offenses. The debate over the bill comes ahead of elections in October.
The legislation advanced this week through parliament to a third and final reading expected on May 17, sparking tens of thousands of people to take to the streets in protest. Dozens have been detained and many have been injured.
"Georgian Dream may fear defeat in any free and fair election, hence it likely views the foreign agent law as a way to eliminate independent civil society organizations which it believes oppose it prior to the election," said Courtney, an adjunct senior fellow at the Washington-based Rand Corporation think tank.
Nicholas Lokker, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security, says the introduction of the bill is a sign the Georgian Dream government is trying to maintain good ties with the Kremlin.
"I'm sure there's some element of not wanting to antagonize Moscow very much at the moment. They are worried about the potential security implications" of integrating with the EU, he said.
Russia maintains thousands of troops in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway Georgian regions that Moscow recognized as independent states following a five-day war with Georgia in 2008.
The EU in December granted candidate status to Georgia and there had been some hope that the bloc would agree to the next stage of accession talks as early as this year. Lokker says the passage of the bill could stall further progress on EU accession.
"If this law passes, it severely jeopardizes the chances of [accession] occurring, given that it does require unanimity within the European Union, and a lot of EU member states, I think, would be hesitant to do that after this bill," Lokker said.
Courtney says passage of the bill could lead to a cut in U.S. aid, saying some of the civil society organizations currently supported by Washington could be shut down.
The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), which funds about three dozen programs in Georgia, rejected accusations that it was somehow involved in supporting revolutions in the country. USAID, which began supporting Georgia in 1992, currently allocates more than $70 million a year for the various projects.
"All of our assistance throughout these 32 years has been to advance our mutually shared goals of advancing Georgia's security, stability, prosperity, and Euro-Atlantic integration," it said in a statement to RFE/RL, adding that farmers, teachers, and small-business owners had been helped by programs is supports.
"USAID is in regular contact with our government of Georgia counterparts about our programs. Everything that we've done in Georgia has been in partnership with its people, and we will continue to stand in support of their vision for the future."