“We have individuals who are in politics, receiving funding from foreign countries, which is illegal, and then using this money in politics,” stated Georgia’s Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili.

The Minister commented on the conversation between ex-president Salome Zourabichvili and NGO representative Ucha Nanuashvili with Russian “pranksters” that was circulated in the media.

According to Maka Botchorishvili, donors should consider how the funds they provide are being used.

“Nothing has been hidden for a long time. Essentially, we have not heard anything new. We know what these people serve and where they get their funding from. Because we knew and identified this, we considered it a challenge for our society and our country’s democratic development. That’s precisely why we began working on the Transparency Law, and that’s why we went through the path we did—quite tense but very necessary for our country’s security.

Clearly, we have people in politics, who receive funding from foreign countries, which is illegal, and then use this money and these funds for political purposes,” Maka Botchorishvili declared.

According to the Foreign Minister, donors should reconsider this situation.

“Donors who try to present themselves to Georgian society as good people who care about the Georgian people and the Georgian society need to reflect on this. In reality, there are neither good intentions nor concern for civil society here. There is only one goal, and that is to encourage and finance radicalism in Georgia, which then opposes our country’s stability. This is the reality, whereas in truth, the projects they halted and are blackmailing us with daily, with news that one project has stopped, then another project in Georgia—these projects were actually serving the interests of the people. These projects were created for this purpose, but they stop them now redirecting this money elsewhere,” stated Maka Botchorishvili.