US Warns Georgia of Possible Consequences if Government Does Not Change Its Course

US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said this at the briefing. Miller said the US urged Georgian authorities to ‘consider the relationship they want with the Euro-Atlantic community, rather than strengthening policies that are praised by authoritarians,’ eurointegration.com.ua reports. The State Department official noted that more than 80 percent of the Georgian people wanted to see the country integrated into the EU and NATO, the constitution of Georgia stipulated the pursuit of these membership, all parties campaigned in support of this goal. ‘But the governing party has adopted measures inconsistent with that course,’ he said. Miller pointed out that the Georgian Government could recommit to its democratic Euro-Atlantic trajectory by respecting the rule of law, addressing deficiencies in its electoral process, withdrawing and repealing anti-democratic legislation, and undertaking significant effort on outstanding EU accession reform recommendations. ‘We have consistently urged the Georgian Government this year to walk back its anti-democratic actions and return to its Euro-Atlantic path.  We do not rule out further consequences if the Georgian Government’s direction does not change,’ the State Department spokesperson emphasized.