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Georgian president vetoes bill on foreign agents

The Georgian legislature passed a bill on foreign agents in the third reading on May 14

© Alexander Patrin/TASS

TBILISI, May 18. /TASS/. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili said she vetoed the bill On Transparency of Foreign Influence, which the Georgian parliament recently adopted.

"Today I vetoed the ‘Russian’ law. This law is Russian in its essence and spirit. It contradicts our constitution and all European standards, so it represents an obstacle on our European path. This veto is legally correct and will be passed to the parliament today. This law is not subject to any changes or improvements, so the veto is very simple. This law must be repealed," she said at a news conference.

The Georgian legislature passed a bill on foreign agents in the third reading on May 14. It began considering the bill in April. Since then, people have been taking to the streets in protest. Several times the rallies escalated into clashes with the police, who used pepper gas and water cannons to disperse protesters.

The bill has been criticized by the US, EU, UN, NATO, OSCE and the Council of Europe. Leaders of Georgia's ruling party argue that it only serves to provide transparency of foreign funding for non-governmental organizations and news media. Georgian President Zourabichvili said she would veto the bill.

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