Another statement was made by the US State Department regarding Russian Law. Vedant Patel, Deputy Spokesman for the State Department, said the US remains concerned that the law, if enacted, would stigmatize civil society organizations and the media.
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“We think that civil society, journalism, media organizations, are cornerstones to any democratic society. And we urge the Georgian Government to heed warnings that this bill is not in line with the European Union’s norms and values, and it certainly would negatively impact Georgia’s progress on its EU path,” Patel said at the April 17 briefing.
On April 17, despite thousands of protests and criticism from international partners, the ruling Georgian Dream adopted the Russian Law in the first reading. 73 of the 83 deputies supporting the draft law on so-called Foreign Agents are members of Georgian Dream, and the rest are satellites of the ruling party - People's Power and European Socialists. The opposition did not participate in the voting.
“On one side the people of Georgia, on the other 83 MP’s who voted against our European future. The people always win!” Salome Zourabichvili said, intends to veto the Russian Law if it is finally adopted.
The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, and the Commissioner for Neighborhood Policy and Enlargement, Oliver Varhelyi, stated that the law was not in line with the EU's core norms and values. They urged Georgia to refrain from adopting legislation that could endanger Georgia's path to the European Union.
Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said at the briefing held after the vote that "in reality, the law is precisely European" and "it will not only not distance Georgia from Europe but will qualitatively bring us closer" to the goal of EU integration.
