Georgian Parliament Speaker welcomes US shift on foreign influence transparency

In response to recent criticism from US Senator Jim Risch regarding Georgia’s law on transparency of foreign influence, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili invoked an old Roman proverb to emphasise the difference in standards between global powers and smaller nations.

“The Romans were wise people, and I’ve often repeated their saying - what is permissible for Jupiter is not permissible for a cow . This is how geopolitics works”, Papuashvili said, addressing the Senator’s remarks.

Papuashvili further welcomed the apparent shift in the US administration’s stance.

“We are glad that the new [US] administration has not only exposed and acknowledged the harmful practices that have been used to undermine other countries with American money, but also started to safeguard itself against the risks that we have been talking about for many years, that foreign influence needs transparency”, the Speaker said.

He also suggested that some diplomats and foreign politicians owe the Georgian people an apology for what he described as “false propaganda”.