Georgian Parliament official welcomes US funding cuts to organisations behind global destabilisation

Gia Volski, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party and the First Vice Speaker of the Parliament, on Tuesday said the new US administration had practically cut off funding to organisations that, according to him, were creating preconditions for destabilisation in Georgia and other countries.

Volski’s comments came after Mike Benz, a former US Department of State official and the Executive Director of the Foundation For Freedom Online, on Monday commented on the mass protests held in Georgia in May 2024 over the foreign influence law, accusing Washington of applying double standards toward countries pursuing legislation similar to that of the United States.

“We spoke about this openly, and it required courage at the time, because there was intense pressure and bullying against our country from quite high levels”, he said.

The official also claimed that certain European actors were not distant from these developments and had made openly critical and, in his words, aggressive statements during protest rallies.

“Thank God the new administration has changed everything and has practically cut off funding to those organisations that were acting this way not only in Georgia but around the world, creating the groundwork for destruction and destabilisation. Europeans were not distant from these processes either, nor did they hide it - they made open, clearly aggressive statements. We all remember how they appeared at rallies held by extremists in the streets. Therefore, this is one form of acknowledgment”, Volski concluded.