Parliament official claims deep state influence behind UK grant programme in Georgia

Levan Machavariani, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and Deputy Chair of the parliamentary faction of the ruling party, on Tuesday claimed that the United Kingdom Foreign Office’s recent grant initiative in Georgia was carrying the hallmarks of what he referred to as the deep state.

Machavariani’s comments followed the United Kingdom Foreign Office’s recent initiative to fund civil society projects ahead of Georgia’s 2025 municipal elections.

“The deep state has deeper roots in the United Kingdom than in the United States. Accordingly, this is the handwriting of the deep state, and we already know whom these grants are intended for”, Machavariani said, in reference to ISFED and individuals like Nino Lomjaria and Eka Giguari.

The official further noted that the grant programme was a substitute for suspended or redirected funding from agencies such as USAID and the National Endowment for Democracy.

“We have reasonable suspicion that this is a replacement for USAID and NED funding. When we talk about the influence of the deep state in the United Kingdom, I always remind our public of two interviews given by Liz Truss. This lady was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom. She explicitly stated that one of the main reasons for her resignation was that the deep state did not allow her to make independent decisions, and in her words, the deep state has deeper roots in the United Kingdom than in the United States”, he said.

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Sunday criticised a newly announced United Kingdom-funded grant intended to support Georgia’s local elections, alleging it represented a continued effort by foreign political groups to interfere in domestic elections through financial means - despite the apparent shift in United States policy.