Georgian Parliament Speaker, US Assistant Secretary of State discuss relations, recent events in country

Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili and James O’Brien, the United States Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, on Tuesday discussed the dynamics of US-Georgia relations, as well as recent events in Georgia.

In a social media post, Papuashvili noted he had had “a frank conversation” with O’Brien at the meeting, where they had also reviewed and “shared positions” about the controversial domestic bill on transparency of foreign influence.

The Georgian Parliament earlier today adopted the bill in the final hearing, 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, on the backdrop of ongoing public protests.