US to pause $95 million assistance to Georgian government, Blinken says

(Reuters) -The United States is pausing more than $95 million in assistance to the Georgian government over a law on "foreign agents" that Washington considers anti-democratic, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Wednesday, further denting U.S.-Georgia relations.

The law, passed by Georgia's parliament in June, requires groups that receive funding from abroad to register as foreign agents. It has been criticized by the domestic opposition and the West as a Russian-inspired measure to crack down on dissent.

The bill's passage led to a major breakdown in relations between the West and Georgia, since 1991 among the most pro-Western of the Soviet Union's successor states.

The pause on U.S. assistance is the result of a review of bilateral cooperation that was announced, along with visa restrictions, in May, Blinken said. Those actions had triggered Georgia's ruling party to accuse Washington of pursuing a policy of "threats and blackmail."

"The Georgian government's anti-democratic actions and false statements are incompatible with membership norms in the EU and NATO," Blinken said in a statement. Washington will continue assistance that benefit the people of the South Caucasus country, he added.

The Georgian government did not immediately comment on Blinken's announcement on Wednesday.

The European Union has also frozen some 30 million euros ($32 million) in military aid to Georgia.

(Reporting by Ismail Shakil in Ottawa; Editing by Doina Chiacu)