Georgian Dream Condemns U.S. MEGOBARI Act

Executive Summary:

• The Georgian Parliament condemned the U.S. MEGOBARI Act, labeling it as “hostile” and “factually flawed” after the U.S. House of Representatives passed the bill calling for sanctions on Georgian Dream leaders due to democratic backsliding.
• Georgian Dream resumed anti-U.S. rhetoric and disinformation campaigns following the acts passing, aiming to justify deeper alignment with authoritarian powers such as Russia and the People’s Republic of China.
• Diplomatic tensions with the West have escalated with incidents, including the denial of entry to an EU diplomat to Georgia. Georgian Dream may further restrict Western diplomatic presence, signaling a shift toward authoritarianism and distancing from Western allies.

On May 14, the Georgian Parliament sent out a critical statement calling the MEGOBARI Act by the U.S. House of Representatives “factually flawed” and “a hostile act against the Georgian state, its people and its authorities, including the parliament” (Georgian Parliament, May 14). On May 5, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the MEGOBARI Act, a bipartisan bill calling on the U.S. President to impose sanctions against Georgian Dream officials, their supporters, and family members (U.S. Congress, accessed June 2). U.S. lawmakers state that they introduced this bill because of a significant rollback of democracy in Georgia, the blocking of Euro-Atlantic integration by the Georgian authorities, and the establishment of “enhanced ties with Russia, the Peoples Republic of China [PRC], and other anti-Western authoritarian regimes” (U.S. Representative Joe Wilson, May 5). Georgian Dream appears shocked by the passing of this act, which could soon become law and deal a significant blow to the current Georgian regime. If this bill is approved and the U.S. president imposes the recommended sanctions, it may lead to Georgia’s complete isolation from the West.

The list of subjects of the proposed sanctions in the act includes Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Chairman of the Parliament Shalva Papuashvili, Mayor Tbilisi Kakha Kaladze, Minister of Foreign Affairs Maka Botchorishvili, Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri (who was replaced by Gela Geladze on May 28), Minister of Justice Paata Salia, Head of the State Security Service Anri Okhanashvili, and President of the National Bank Natia Turnava, as well as the heads of the Central Electoral Commission, prosecutors, judges, individual businessmen who support the regime, and more (X/@RepJoeWilson, May 6). If the entire ruling elite of the country is under sanctions, this will completely isolate it from the outside world.

On May 13, Kobakhidze sent an open letter to U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance. In the letter, Kobakhidze expresses reproach and surprise that the United States would initiate active dialogue and communication with openly undemocratic and authoritarian states, yet leave his previous letter unanswered. At the same time, Kobakhidze notes that Georgian Dream and the new U.S. administration share common values (Facebook/KobakhidzeOfficial, May 13). To emphasize these alleged shared values, Georgian Dream propaganda media consistently posts banners with quotes from Trump without their original context on social media. For example, they have reposted: “The U.S. relationship with China is very good” (Facebook/tvimedi, May 12); “European Union is in many ways nastier than China” (Facebook/tvimedi, May 12); and “Either the deep state destroys America or we destroy the deep state” (Facebook/tvimedi, May 9). Georgian Dream seeks to use this propaganda to show its population that its policy of bringing Georgia closer to the PRC, as well as the Georgian Dream’s obsession with fighting Georgia’s invisible enemy, the Deep State, fits well with their depiction of U.S. policy.

Before this open letter to Trump and Vance, Georgian Dream had announced a temporary moratorium on criticism of the United States, its administration, and the U.S. Embassy in Georgia, in the hope of a reset in relations with the new U.S. administration. Georgian Dream’s propaganda even attempted to use Pope Francis’s funeral to create the illusion of improving relations between Georgian Dream and the Trump administration, according to local opposition media (Facebook/publika.ge, April 26). Pro-government media edited and falsified a photo with the title “President Mikheil Kavelashvili and President Donald Trump,” in which, at the funeral, Trump allegedly greeted Kavelashvili (Facebook/tvimedi, April 26). Additionally, Georgian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Levan Davitashvili’s visit to the United States on April 26 was presented by Georgian Dream as a diplomatic breakthrough (Facebook/moesdgovge, May 26). This was the first visit of such an official from Georgia to the United States since the Georgian parliamentary elections in October 2024, which were followed by mass protests in Georgia and criticism from the West (see EDM, October 18, November 5, 20, December 6, 10, 2024). While in the United States, Davitashvili was only reported to have met Andrew Peake, U.S. Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for European Affairs at the National Security Council. Georgian Dream propaganda disseminated statements by Davitashvili, saying that “they saw a mood on the part of the new U.S. administration for mutually beneficial and productive cooperation” (Facebook/tvimedi, May 2). In reality, it remained unclear what was said during this one meeting.

After the adoption of the MEGOBARI Act, the leaders of the Georgian Dream gave their propagandists the green light for a new wave of criticism against the United States. Georgian Dream Member of Parliament Maia Bitadze stated in a television interview that Georgia’s strategic partnership with the United States has not brought any benefit to Georgia (Formula News, May 9). The deputy chairperson of the Georgian parliament and member of the political council of the Georgian Dream, Nino Tsilosani (who is also on the future sanctions list), called the MEGOBARI Act “a document financed by global forces” (Imedinews.ge, May 7). Kobakhidze himself expressed reproach in his open letter toward the significant financial assistance that the United States has provided to Georgia over many years:

We do not consider as real assistance the amounts allocated by the U.S. Embassy, ​​USAID, NED [the National Endowment for Democracy], the Soros Foundation, and other channels for inciting radicalism and hatred in Georgia, organizing a revolution, undermining the image of the Orthodox Church, inciting religious extremism, weakening state institutions, implementing gender and LGBT propaganda, and other similar purposes (Facebook/KobakhidzeOfficial, May 13).

Opposition television channel Formula News sent a letter to the U.S. State Department to see its assessment of the open letter, to which the State Department responded, “The United States has made it clear what steps the Georgian government can take to demonstrate the seriousness of its intentions to improve relations with the United States” (Formulanews.ge, May 17).

At a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing on May 21, U.S. Representative Joe Wilson asked U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, “Under your leadership, what will be done to help the State Department impose real cost on the anti-American Georgian Dream on behalf of the people of Georgia?“ (Facebook/usingeo, May 22). Rubio responded:

The goal of the United States is our national interests, so we will look at that and say, is it in our national interest to have an anti-American government governing an important part of the world, and if not, we’ll take appropriate actions to impose costs on that government. That’s currently under review, and we’re looking for options and additional options. I have no announcement today specifically on what we plan to do yet, but I can tell you that that is something that is being discussed (YouTube/@HouseForeignGOP, May 21; Facebook/usingeo, May 22).

It is becoming increasingly difficult for the Georgian Dream propaganda machine to deceive its supporters and the population that they will be able to find a common language with Trump following the approval of the MEGOBARI Act. Georgian Dream likely intends to intensify the confrontation. In response, it may impose restrictions on the diplomatic activities of the United States and European countries in Georgia. One of Georgian Dream’s main propagandists, philosopher Zaza Shatirishvili, has already implied this. On May 15, he published a letter in which he claimed that it is necessary to take preventive measures to “stop anti-Georgian actions by foreign embassies,” and first points to the U.S. embassy, where, according to his information, approximately 350 people work. The propagandist suspects that a large number of diplomats are not necessary for the embassy, and suspects that a certain number of diplomats are employees of so-called “U.S. special services” and are engaged in subversive work in Georgia. He recommends that the Georgian government introduce specific quotas for the number of employees for foreign embassies (Rustavi2.ge, May 15). Shatirishvili is close to the informal leader of Georgia and the founder of Georgian Dream, Bidzina Ivanishvili, and almost all his recommendations are quickly implemented.

There is a high probability that Georgian Dream may quickly begin to reduce the diplomatic corps of foreign states in Georgia and could even go as far as expelling diplomats, including ambassadors. The first alarming incident recorded, involving a European diplomat, supports this. On May 22, an employee of the EU mission in Georgia, Simon Vanderbrook, was not allowed into the country (Formulanews.ge, May 22). According to the EU mission in Georgia, Georgia violated the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. After the note from the EU mission, the Georgian government apologized for the “unfortunate incident” (Formulanews.ge, May 23). It is already clear, however, that Georgian Dream has removed all red lines in relation to Western diplomats, and such incidents are likely to occur more frequently (see EDM, May 7).

Georgian Dream’s recent rhetoric and actions appear to be borrowed from Soviet-era textbooks of the Cold War era. Georgian Dream, while increasing its confrontation with the United States, however, forgets that for 33 years, the United States has acted as Georgia’s loyal ally, whereas Russia, which the Georgian government has increasingly turned to, has acted in many cases as its “loyal enemy.”