Georgian Parliament Speaker: "diplomacy must reclaim space seized by distorted foreign aid practices"

Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, Shalva Papuashvili, stated that diplomacy must reclaim the role that has been overtaken by what he described as the distorted practices of foreign aid. His remarks came in response to the recent announcement by Secretary of State Marco Rubio that USAID will suspend its operations in Georgia.

Papuashvili reminded his old post about the same topic, arguing that for years, foreign assistance in Georgia had shifted from being supportive to being exploitative, used as a political instrument rather than a tool for development. “Foreign aid has been transformed from support into appropriation, from charity into an instrument of political warfare,” he wrote on social media.

According to the Speaker, such aid practices have often bypassed governments and directly targeted political parties and civil society organizations to implant foreign interests under the guise of democratic support. “These newly implanted ‘interests’ were then portrayed as the will of the people and became powerful tools for foreign influence,” he said.

He also criticized the role of foreign ambassadors, comparing some to Soviet-era second secretaries dispatched from Moscow, who acted as de facto overseers of local governance rather than partners in diplomacy.

Papuashvili welcomed the US decision as a turning point, saying Washington had taken leadership in acknowledging and correcting flawed foreign aid approaches. He called for full transparency from all donor countries and urged international actors to investigate and disclose all instances of potential misuse of aid.

“Georgia will do what the people have entrusted us to do — to safeguard our democracy from improper external interference,” Papuashvili emphasized, adding that the Parliament will soon introduce legislation to address these issues.