U.S. Says 'Stands With Georgian People'

Washington D.C./09.03.23/Turan:    Washington on Wednesday made it clear that it's 'standing with Georgian people' while hoping that the government in Tbilisi will reflect the aspirations of its own people, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"We are standing with the people of Georgia and the aspirations that they have," State Department spokesman Ned Price told a daily briefing when responding to TURAN's questions. "We urge the government of Georgia to respect the freedom of peaceful assembly and peaceful protests," he said,

As Georgian police fired water cannons and tear gas at thousands of protesters against a controversial Russian-style "foreign agent" law, Price said, Washington is "continuing to closely monitor" the developments on the ground.

"We urge all parties to exercise restraint and to avoid any escalatory or violent actions while respecting the rule of law and Georgia’s democratic values," he said.  "We are.. deeply troubled by the ... law [which] would stigmatize and silence independent voices and citizens of Georgia who are dedicated to building a better future within their own communities." he added.

Price went on to add, "Parliament’s advancing of Kremlin-inspired draft laws is "incompatible with the people of Georgia’s clear desire for European integration and its democratic development, Pursuing these laws, we believe, will damage Georgia’s relations with its strategic partners and jeopardizes Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future. These are at the heart of the aspirations of the Georgian people, the project that the Georgian people have pursued over the course of decades now since Georgia’s independence."

The U.S. has been a strategic partner to Georgia; Georgia has aspirations for fuller integration with Europe and the EU, according to Price.. "All of those things are in play in the context of the debate that we see raging now in Tbilisi."

Alex Raufoglu