The Swedish government is suspending any direct cooperation with the authorities of Georgia, reports the Swedish publication swedenherald.se.
“Georgia has been moving in a very concerning direction lately. The violations reported by international observers during the parliamentary elections reinforce this,” said Minister for Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade Benjamin Duzha.
The pro-Russian ruling party “Georgian Dream” garnered nearly 54% in the disputed parliamentary elections, the legitimacy of which is questioned by the opposition and international observers.
“Therefore, the government is suspending direct Swedish-Georgian cooperation, which is still ongoing, including with the Georgian tax service,” Duzha stated.
At the same time, the Swedish government is allocating 25 million kronor for the development of civil society in Georgia.
According to Duzha, cooperation may be resumed in the future if Georgia chooses the path toward the EU again.
Swedish aid to Georgia amounts to approximately 200 million kronor per year.
More about why the protests in Tbilisi could trigger three different scenarios, one of which is “Ukrainian,” can be found in the Mind article “Stress Test for the European Union: How the Elections in Georgia Became a Test of Western Democracy’s Resilience.”