There was no money from the USA in Georgia's budget — Papuashvili answered Blinken

Georgia is not a backward country that is subsidized by other countries, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili said, commenting on the US decision to suspend assistance to the Georgian government.

"So far, the US Embassy has not explained how much it is talking about. I know that this amount definitely did not go to the budget. The state of Georgia operates its own budget, which is created by the Georgian people. Our society is being convinced that someone has stopped funding somewhere, and now this is some kind of disaster. As far as I know, there was no such amount in the budget approved by the Parliament of Georgia," the speaker of the parliament said.

As EADaily reported, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said on July 31 that the US was suspending the allocation of more than $ 95 million in direct assistance to the Georgian government.

According to him, "the anti-democratic actions and false statements of the Georgian government do not comply with the norms of membership in the European Union and NATO."

"For more than 32 years of friendship and partnership between our countries and peoples, the people of the United States have provided more than $6.2 billion in aid, which contributed to the development and strengthening of Georgia's economy and democratic institutions. Our assistance contributed to the equipping and training of the Georgian Defense Forces and the Coast Guard, the construction of schools and hospitals, as well as the training of teachers, civil servants and medical workers," Blinken of Georgia recalled.

State Department spokesman Vedant Patel later clarified that financial assistance to the Georgian government would go to support NGOs and THE media.

"We will continue to support programs and activities that benefit the Georgian people by strengthening democracy, the rule of law, independent media and economic development. In some cases, assistance programs may be changed to redirect resources to NGOs working in a particular sector," he said.

Patel called on the Georgian government to "return to the democratic path" and withdraw the law "On Transparency of foreign Influence" and other "problematic bills."