A new draft bill expected to be introduced in the US Congress this week would offer Georgia “a robust preferential trade regime,” but only if Georgia shows what the US deems “significant and sustained progress towards reinvigorating its democracy,” according to Politico.
All in all, it appears that the US has adopted a classic “carrot and stick” approach towards the country, says Shota Apkhaidze, a political analyst and director of the Center for Islamic Studies of the Caucasus.
“It is already clear that they are not our friends, that they are not our partners, seeing what they do, how political processes develop, how they openly meddle in everything, even in street protests and in the political life in Georgia in general,” he says, referring to the US.
Now, as the US’ efforts to foment unrest in Georgia have failed in the face of staunch resistance by the Georgian state, Washington has changed tack and now offers military and economic benefits in exchange for Georgia acquiescing its demands.
“There is a very important point in the life of every state – the idea of honor and self dignity. If Georgian society, Georgian leadership falls for this handout, it would mean that we sold ourselves out,” Apkhaidze explains.
He notes that, so far, Georgian politicians show no intent to change the country’s foreign and domestic policies in exchange for this handout.
Apkhaidze also describes this US initiative as an attempt to meddle in Georgia’s internal matters, as Washington keeps trying to dissuade Tbilisi from adopting the foreign agents bill.
“A law is passed in a legislative body of a state. In this case, it should take place in the Georgian parliament because the Georgian parliament is elected by the majority of Georgian citizens,” he states.
Furthermore, Apkhaidze noted that all the political pressure from the US and destabilization are aimed at demonizing Georgia's ruling party and leadership, as well as those who support the patriotic agenda and defend the nation's interests ahead of the parliamentary elections scheduled for October.
"They know they will lose; all these pro-Western organizations and parties will at most garner 15% to 18%, they physically can't get more. And now, before the elections, they want to destabilize the situation," he said.
According to the analyst, this is a well-practiced tactic: after the elections aee lost, they claim it was rigged, urging people to protest. As such, the recent protests in Tbilisi are nothing but a rehearsal.
However, the expert noted that many Americans have very poor memories. "They fail to understand a crucial aspect of the Georgian mentality. Georgians, like any nation, are capable of recognizing objective reality. The objective reality is that they consider us their backyard and they treat us as subhumans," said Apkhaidze.
"When America and the West in general declare war on everything that is valuable to us - family, traditions, ancestors, and so forth, these sentiments naturally rise. They constantly meddle in our internal affairs, which also fuels anti-Western sentiments. And then they are surprised. Of course, these anti-Western feelings are growing," he said.