The United States is preparing new sanctions against Georgia, announced State Department spokesman Matthew Miller, quoted by Agence France-Presse and BTA, amid ongoing protests in the former Soviet republic.
At the end of last month, the Georgian government froze the country's accession talks with the European Union for at least four years.
"We are very concerned about the state of democracy in Georgia and about the steps taken to undermine democracy in Georgia," Miller told reporters yesterday. He made it clear that the US is ready to impose "additional sanctions in the coming weeks".
Several thousand people protested in Tbilisi last night for the 19th consecutive day. The lights on the giant Christmas tree in front of the parliament in the capital were meanwhile lit, but without ceremony.