There is no support in the US Congress for lifting sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili, stated David J. Kramer, Executive Director of the George W. Bush Institute, in an interview with TV Pirveli. According to him, on the contrary, there is support for imposing even tougher sanctions against Ivanishvili.
“Regarding the extension of the sanctions imposed against Ivanishvili, this is an important signal; however, at the same time, it creates certain mixed messages. When you have a phone call with Secretary of State Rubio, the details of which were largely not made public, and simultaneously there is this decision, which I support—I believe it was a positive step by the Trump administration to extend the sanctions, though I would have liked to see more.
The Biden administration did not act properly in this direction. It had the opportunity to impose additional sanctions against the Prime Minister and other members of the Georgian Dream (Gruzinskaya Mechta) government due to their behavior, but that did not happen. I would like to see the Trump administration take a tougher stance toward the Georgian Dream government. The extension of Executive Order 14024 was a positive development for me, but the signals remain somewhat confusing regarding what the Trump administration’s policy actually is.
There is currently no US Ambassador in Tbilisi, and it would truly help the situation if a nominee were appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. This would bring much greater clarity. Alan Purcell, with whom I worked at the State Department, is an excellent diplomat, but he does not have the status that a Senate-confirmed ambassador possesses. Will the sanctions against Ivanishvili be lifted? I don’t think so.
The position of the US Congress is also important in this process. As you know, Congressman Joe Wilson is actively calling on the State Department for a tougher approach toward Georgian Dream. Senator Shaheen is also a sharp critic of this government. The current situation will be interesting because the House of Representatives, as is known, has already passed the MEGOBARI Act, but it was blocked in the Senate by now-former Senator Markwayne Mullin, who now holds a new position in the Department of Homeland Security. Apparently, he was the only obstacle to the passage of this bill in the Senate, so it is possible that the Senate will still consider this initiative. I am not an expert on the technical details of congressional operations—for example, whether the bill would need to be reconsidered by the House if passed by the Senate, given the time elapsed. Perhaps yes, but in my view, it would be a very positive signal.
I also believe the administration should take into account that there is no support in the US Congress for lifting sanctions on Ivanishvili. On the contrary, there is support for tightening and expanding them, including against other officials, not just Ivanishvili. Therefore, in my view, it is extremely unlikely that we will see these sanctions overturned,” Kramer stated.