The Lithuanian foreign minister, who is visiting Tbilisi, says the Georgian government is turning its back on the European direction and so it is important to show support for Georgia’s pro-Western society and its president.
The visit comes after Georgian lawmakers adopted a controversial “foreign influence” law on Tuesday.
“The Georgian government has proved once again it has decided to turn its back on the European and transatlantic path, but the only direction they can move in is towards Russia. This is particularly sad,” Landsbergis told BNS.
Overnight, Landsbergis arrived in Georgia with the foreign ministers of Latvia, Estonia and Iceland, and they are scheduled to meet with Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili, Foreign Minister Ilya Darchashvili, representatives of the opposition and non-parliamentary parties, NGOs, and youth representatives.
According to the minister, the first goal of the visit is to send a message to the Georgian government that they are abandoning the “European path” with these decisions.
“We will meet with the president, who is now the central figure explaining to the West what is happening and mobilising the people for action,” Landsbergis said. “We also want to support the people of Georgia as they are particularly keen on European integration and want to be with Europe.”
Georgian lawmakers on Tuesday adopted the controversial law, despite weeks of protests and growing tensions.
The country’s president has vowed to veto the law, distancing herself from the policies of the ruling party. However, the ruling party has enough MPs to override the veto.
The law has been denounced by opponents as similar to the existing repressive law on “foreign agents” in Russia, which Moscow uses to suppress critics and stifle independent media.
Protesters, mainly young people, say the law will dash Georgia’s hopes of joining the EU and spell the end of democracy in the country.
Georgia’s ruling Georgian Dream party, which was forced to scrap a similar bill last year in the face of overwhelming public opposition, argues that it is only seeking to bring more transparency into foreign funding for civic groups.
Once the law comes into force, all independent NGOs and media organisations that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad will have to register as an “organisation acting in the interests of a foreign state”.
The EU warned Georgia on Tuesday that the adoption of the “foreign influence” law would hinder the country’s bid to join the bloc.
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