Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze strongly rejected on Friday (3 May) criticism from the United States and European Union of a draft “foreign agents” law, accusing opponents of the bill of unwilling to engage in a meaningful discussion.

The draft legislation, which is winding its way through the Georgian parliament, would require organisations receiving more than 20% of their funding from abroad to register as agents of foreign influence, a requirement opponents attack as authoritarian and Kremlin-inspired.

Several thousand protesters took to the streets again on Friday to voice their opposition, moving towards the headquarters of the ruling Georgian Dream party and then attending a Holy Friday service ahead of Orthodox Easter Sunday.

Protesters gathered in front of the Paragraph hotel in Tbilisi belonging to the company of the pro-Kremlin billionaire founder of the Georgian Dream party Bidzina Ivanishvili, where an Asian Development Bank forum attended by members of the government was taking place.

The demonstrators then headed to the Georgian Dream party headquarters, chanting: “We will not tire”, “Georgia will win” and “No to the Russian government”.

“We are heading to the Georgian Dream’s headquarters to demand they free the young people arrested in recent days and to call on them to abandon the Russian law,” said Data Nadaraia, a 24-year-old student.

The European Union and the United States have urged Tbilisi to drop the legislation or risk harming its chances of European Union membership and a broader Euro-Atlantic future.

The standoff is seen as part of a wider struggle that could determine whether Georgia, a country of 3.7 million people that has experienced war and revolution since the fall of the Soviet Union, moves closer to Europe or back under Moscow’s influence.

Kobakhidze said the legislation was necessary for transparency and accountability in the South Caucasus nation.

“I explained to (senior US diplomat Derek) Chollet that false statements made by the officials of the US State Department about the transparency bill and street rallies remind us of similar false statements made by the former US Ambassador in 2020-2023,” Kobakhidze said on X.

He said the previous US statements had encouraged violence from what he called foreign-funded actors and had supported “revolutionary processes” which he said had been unsuccessful.

“I clarified to Mr. Chollet that it requires a special effort to restart the relations (between Georgia and the United States) against this background, which is impossible without a fair and honest approach.”

The White House has expressed concerns that the legislation could stifle dissent and free speech.

Kobakhidze also expressed disappointment at a conversation with European Council President Charles Michel, saying the EU had “been reluctant to engage in substantive discussions.”

“Furthermore, I highlighted that we have not yet heard any counterarguments against this proposed legislation,” he said.

Michel said on X that “Georgian citizens’ call for an open democratic and pluralistic society must be heeded… Georgia’s future belongs with the EU. Don’t miss this historic chance.”

Ivanishvili, a former PM and still the strongman of Georgia, has said he will fight for what he called “the full restoration of the sovereignty of Georgia”.

(Edited by Georgi Gotev)

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