Vedant Patel, the Deputy Press Secretary of the U.S. State Department, emphasized the importance of maintaining relations with relevant officials in Georgia.
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The State Department representative made this comment at a briefing held in Washington. He was asked whether the visit of the head of the Georgian security service to the U.S. and the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs to the NATO summit, a few days after the announcement of visa sanctions, are sending "mixed messages."
“when it comes to Georgia – and I know we’ve spent a lot of time in this briefing room talking about some of the legislation that has recently passed – it’s important that also we continue to engage with appropriate officials when the Georgian Government – it is a country we continue to have a range of issues that we want to prioritize in the context of that bilateral relationship with them. And while, of course, when it comes – when it has come to this specific legislation, you’ve heard me and Matt talk about the many issues that we have and how we believe it is counter to Georgia’s own EU aspirations. It’s – we still believe it’s important to engage, and there continue to be other issues that we have no doubt we’ll talk about with them,” Patel said.
Due to the adoption of the Russian-style law on so-called Foreign Agents by the Parliament of Georgia, the U.S. State Department announced the first phase of sanctions on June 6. The sanctions will affect two to three dozen individuals, including members of Georgian Dream, parliamentarians, law enforcement personnel, and private individuals, who will be barred from entering U.S. territory. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller did not disclose specific names, citing confidentiality requirements under the law.
Based on media reports, those sanctioned include Georgian Dream MPs Dimitri Samkharadze, Anri Okhanashvili, and Mamuka Mdinaradze, as well as Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri, Chief of Criminal Police Teimuraz Kupatadze, Chief of Patrol Police Vazha Siradze, and Director of the Special Tasks Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Zviad Kharazishvili.
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