In response to the People's Power-initiated draft law on foreign agents, the Administration of the Georgian President stated that the president could not accept such legislation and the punishment of new “agents”.

The presidential administration noted that one of the political groups this time chose to initiate the law that brings Georgia closer to the flawed Russian model and not to the European model in the situation where the primary assessment of the fulfillment of the European Commission's 12 recommendations is being prepared, when the upcoming February 24 makes the question of European future more relevant for the three countries of the Associated Trio.

The statement highlighted that the draft bill was submitted to the legislative bureau when a delegation of senators from the United States was visiting the nation. "There can be no coincidence about this. A force has been set in action to select a different road as the Georgian interest, not reinforce Georgia's European path," it stated.

At a special briefing, Mamuka Mdinaradze, the Spokesperson for the ruling party, declared that the party would support the draft law "On Transparency of Foreign Funding," which would designate as "foreign agents" all media and civil society groups that receive at least 20% of their funding from foreign sources.

According to the official, the parliamentary faction of the ruling party has decided on the level of principles to support the measure, but obviously, the specifics are still being negotiated. Comparisons to legislation like that in Russia were referred to as speculation by the Speaker. The diplomat added: "If someone, whomever they may be, thinks that this [law] is equivalent to the Russian one, they are just lying."

Although acknowledging that the proposal is not equivalent to the American legislation either, because in both situations [Russia and the US], the law adds various constraints," Mdinaradze insisted.

Read also: Controversy over Law on Foreign Agents in Georgia