The UK has suspended scheduled security talks with Georgia, a small country in the South Caucasus region, citing concerns over alleged democratic backsliding and anti-Western rhetoric by the ruling Georgian Dream party.
“For the first time in 10 years since we started our bilateral Wardrop Dialogue, we on the UK side decided to freeze these ministerial talks,” Gareth Ward, the UK’s envoy to Georgia, said in an exclusive interview published by Georgia’s InterPress news agency on Oct. 15.
“We have not held our planned Defense Staff talks, and we have paused new cybersecurity programming.”
The UK ambassador attributed the move to a series of recent actions by Georgian Dream that critics claim are anti-democratic.
In May, Georgia’s parliament adopted a law against perceived foreign influence that requires organizations that receive overseas funding to register as “organizations pursuing foreign interests.”
Proponents of the legislation, including Georgian Dream, say the law aims to protect the country from malign foreign influences operating under the guise of “civil society.”
Critics, both domestic and foreign, say the law will stifle free speech and expression.
“We were concerned when Parliament adopted legislation to restrict civil society, especially after it had seen the strength of public opposition,” Ward said in the interview.
He also accused the ruling party of promoting “conspiracy theories” suggesting that Western powers were “undermining” Georgia in advance of upcoming parliamentary polls.
On Oct. 26, Georgian Dream, which has been in power for 12 years, will face off against a loose coalition of pro-Western opposition parties.
In remarks to the Georgian media, Archil Gorduladze, a Georgian Dream lawmaker, said Ward’s comments—made less than two weeks before the election—constituted “gross interference” in the country’s domestic affairs.
EU Issues Warning
Brussels has also been critical of the Georgian government since the latter adopted the anti-foreign influence law.At an upcoming summit in Brussels, European Union leaders will stress their “serious concern regarding the course of action taken by the Georgian authorities,” according to a draft statement prepared for the summit, slated for Oct. 17 and Oct. 18.
“The European Council recalls that such course of action jeopardizes Georgia’s EU path and de facto halts the accession process,” the draft statement reads.
Brussels granted Georgia EU candidate status late last year, but after Georgia adopted the anti-foreign influence law, the EU suspended the country’s membership bid and froze millions of euros in scheduled foreign assistance.
According to the draft statement, EU leaders will also repeat demands that the Georgian authorities “ensure that the upcoming parliamentary elections are free and fair.”
“There is a possibility of the introduction of sanctions in the future in case things would really go wrong with the elections,” Herczynski told reporters in Tbilisi, Georgia’s capital.
Washington has taken similar punitive measures against Georgia, recently imposing sanctions and visa restrictions on officials linked to the Georgian Dream party.
The ruling party has accused Western powers of resorting to “threats and blackmail” and seeking to limit Georgia’s “independence and sovereignty.”
“We see indiscriminate attempts by Western countries to put pressure on the current Georgian authorities and to directly influence the course of the election campaign,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Oct. 15, according to Russia’s TASS news agency.
He also dismissed Western counterclaims that Moscow sought to influence Georgia’s election in favor of the ruling party.
“We do not interfere in the internal affairs of Georgia in any way,” Peskov told reporters. “And we have no plans to do so.”
He said longstanding “complications” in Russia–Georgia relations “do not hinder the development of humanitarian ties ... [between] peoples of the two countries.”
Last week, Moscow removed a 90-day limit for Georgian nationals’ visa-free travel to Russia and made it easier for them to study and work in the country.
The move followed remarks by Herczynski, who said Brussels could suspend its visa-free travel regime with Georgia if the latter’s upcoming elections were not free and fair.
