US Assistant Secretary of State to visit Georgia next week

James O’Brien, the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, will visit Georgia’s capital Tbilisi next week, the United States Department of State said on Saturday.

O’Brien is set to meet with the representatives from government, civil society and the private sector to express the US’s “enduring commitment” to the Georgian people and to the country’s “desire for a peaceful, prosperous, and secure Euro-Atlantic future”, the body noted.

In his social media post, the Assistant Secretary of State denounced violence and intimidation of those in Georgia who oppose the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence, which calls for the registration of non-commercial legal entities and media outlets in the country as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power” if they derive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad.