Georgian PM Slams U.S. Criticism Of Draft Law That Sparked Mass Protests

Nicholas Lokker, an analyst at the Center for a New American Security, says the introduction of the bill is a sign the Georgian Dream government is trying to maintain good ties with the Kremlin.

"I'm sure there's some element of not wanting to antagonize Moscow very much at the moment. They are worried about the potential security implications" of integrating with the EU, he said.

Russia maintains thousands of troops in South Ossetia and Abkhazia, two breakaway Georgian regions that Moscow recognized as independent states following a five-day war with Georgia in 2008.

The EU in December granted candidate status to Georgia and there had been some hope that the bloc would agree to the next stage of accession talks as early as this year. Lokker says the passage of the bill could stall further progress on EU accession.

"If this law passes, it severely jeopardizes the chances of [accession] occurring, given that it does require unanimity within the European Union, and a lot of EU member states, I think, would be hesitant to do that after this bill," Lokker said.

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