Billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of the ruling "Georgian Dream" party, refused to meet with US Assistant Secretary of State James O'Brien. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze announced this during a press conference. "I can confirm that the request was made in connection with [O'Brien's] meeting with Bidzina Ivanishvili, which he refused," Kobakhidze said.
O'Brien arrives in Tbilisi on May 14. On this day, the Parliament of Georgia will vote the bill on foreign agents in the third final reading. In an earlier interview with "Voice of America", O'Brien said that the adoption of "laws based on Russian laws" would make it "impossible" for Georgia to join the European Union.
