On September 16, during a briefing, US State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller addressed the recent decision by the US to impose sanctions and visa restrictions on Georgian officials and individuals accused of undermining democracy. 

Miller also commented on the Georgian Dream party’s recent announcement of plans to apologize for the August 2008 war, emphasizing that Georgia has no need to apologize for Russia's invasion and occupation.

Miller began the briefing by announcing the State Department’s decision, underscoring that "the United States remains deeply concerned by the ongoing anti-democratic actions of the Georgian Government, which are incompatible with membership norms in the EU and NATO." He highlighted the passing of the Foreign Agents Law and the violent crackdown on Georgian citizens protesting it. Miller noted, "Today, the United States is imposing sanctions on two Georgian Government officials and two leaders of a violent extremist group, as well as imposing visa restrictions on more than 60 Georgian individuals for their involvement in human rights abuses, corrupt practices, or other anti-democratic actions."

According to Miller, this decision followed "an ongoing comprehensive review of all bilateral cooperation in Georgia due to persistent anti-democratic actions," as well as anti-Western statements from high-level Georgian officials that are "contrary to the spirit" of US-Georgian relations. He stressed that the Georgian Government could reaffirm its commitment to the Euro-Atlantic trajectory by "conducting free and fair elections, withdrawing and repealing anti-democratic legislation, and demonstrating significant and measurable progress on outstanding EU accession reform recommendations."

In concluding his remarks, Miller emphasized the 32 years of US support for Georgia’s economic and democratic development, noting, "Our assistance has focused on making Georgia stronger, more prosperous, and a more capable country – or more – a country more capable of defending its sovereignty and territorial integrity." He added, "We hope the Government of Georgia will return to the path that its people so evidently desire."

Finally, Miller was asked about Bidzina Ivanishvili’s campaign, which aimed to "convince the world that it was Georgia, backed by the US, that started a war with Russia in 2008." Miller responded, "I would just say simply I don’t think Georgia needs to apologize for having been invaded by Russia any more than Georgia needs to apologize for the fact that Russia continues to illegally occupy 20% of Georgian territory. It is Russia that has been the aggressor in invading Georgia and continuing to illegally occupy Georgia, as Russia has been the aggressor with other countries in the region – of course, Ukraine being a very prominent example of that."