Georgia’s Foreign Minister criticises foreign political funding as unfair practice

Georgian Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili on Wednesday responded to the United Kingdom's decision to withdraw grants for election monitoring, stating that Georgia was pushing back against what she described as “unfair” practices related to the foreign funding of Georgian politics.

Speaking to journalists, Botchorishvili highlighted the concerning trend of foreign funding in recent years, asserting that what was presented as support for civil society development was, in reality, often the financing of political activism.

“It is very regrettable that we have seen the harmful practice in recent years where, under the guise of so-called civil society development, there is actually the financing of political activism in Georgia”, the FM said.

She added that this also encompassed “illegal activities related to the financing of political parties and politics in general from abroad”.

“The response of the Georgian Government is entirely legitimate, and all our partners should approach it with understanding and respect, as we are confronting an unfair attitude linked to the funding of Georgian politics from foreign countries”, she concluded.