The US authorities are imposing visa restrictions on about 20 people in Georgia, including high-ranking officials and lawmakers, for violating democratic norms, and are also preparing additional sanctions. This is noted in a press statement Thursday by US Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller.

"The Department of State is announcing additional action today under the visa restriction policy that prohibits visa issuance to those who are responsible for, or complicit in, undermining democracy in Georgia," the statement said. "Today’s action will affect approximately twenty individuals, including individuals serving as government ministers and in Parliament, law enforcement and security officials, and private citizens."

The statement emphasized that the "United States strongly condemns the Georgian Dream party’s ongoing, brutal, and unjustified violence against Georgian citizens, including protesters, members of the media, human rights activists, and opposition figures.  Georgian Dream has turned away from Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future," which allegedly the Georgian people overwhelmingly desire.

"We are committed to seeing that senior officials responsible for or complicit in undermining democracy will be subject to visa restrictions," the statement emphasized.

The statement noted that the US is "preparing additional actions, including sanctions."

The US State Department explained that its “actions today demonstrate U.S. resolve and add to previously announced actions implicating more than 100 [ruling party] Georgian Dream-affiliated individuals and their family members.”