The Facts
The US has issued a new visa restriction policy for Georgians over the recently passed "foreign influence" law that the White House alleges stifles freedoms of association and expression.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday that the visa restrictions would apply to "individuals who are responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy in Georgia, as well as their family members."
The Spin
The foreign influence law is part of a larger trend to dismantle civil society, undermine NGOs, and weaken democratic forces in Georgia. It's an authoritarian move to crush dissent and shift the former Soviet republic away from a pro-Western course back toward Russia. The US must prevent the country's slide towards autocracy.
The law is needed to preserve Georgia's sovereignty, promote transparency, and block foreign forces from eroding its democratic principles. The way outside powers, including the US, have been attempting to meddle in Georgia's internal affairs validates the significance of the legislation. Washington must refrain from blackmailing a sovereign, independent state.
