PM Kobakhidze defends ‘Foreign Agents’ Law, suggests ‘Deep State’ influence in US policy shift

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has defended his government’s decision to introduce a foreign agent law modeled after the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), suggesting that recent discussions in the United States about softening FARA regulations may be linked to “deep state” influences.

Speaking about the controversial legislation, Kobakhidze noted that Georgia had already adopted a “soft version” of the American FARA law last year, yet certain organizations continued to oppose it. He claimed that the decision to fully implement the law was influenced by past events in the U.S. and concerns over foreign-funded political interference in Georgia.

“It’s a strange coincidence that just as we announced our decision to pass a version of the FARA law, statements emerged in the US about softening their own FARA regulations. The ‘deep state’ may be behind this—time will tell,” Kobakhidze said.

He further alleged that foreign-funded NGOs have been involved in multiple attempts to stage revolutions in Georgia, stating, “Over the past four years, there have been four attempts to organize a revolution in Georgia, all involving foreign agents and NGOs financed from abroad. This is completely unacceptable, and the transparency law is intended to prevent such attempts in the future.”

Kobakhidze also claimed that the European Union had planned to introduce a similar law but refrained from doing so after Georgia initiated its own version, as this would have undermined the EU’s ability to criticize Georgia for the legislation.

“Our responsibility is to stand against foreign interference and prevent attempts to destabilize our country through NGOs and foreign funding. This is our duty to the Georgian state and society,” he concluded.