The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is interfering in the internal affairs of South Caucasus countries and practicing double standards in Georgia. This is evident, particularly after the Georgian State Security Service (GSS) disseminated information in early October 2023 about the arrival of "experts," invited by USAID, specializing in organizing coups d'état and "color revolutions."

 According to the SGB, USAID funded the training sessions carried out in Tbilisi from September 26 to 29 by representatives of the Serbian NGO CANVAS (Center for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies).

The purpose of the four-day course was to instruct individuals with extreme viewpoints to bring about a "nonviolent" transformation of power in Georgia. Representatives of non-governmental organizations and civil activists were retrained at the Ibis Hotel in Tbilisi, particularly a major group that is expected to play a decisive role in preparing and implementing processes to overthrow the government.

The possibility of an overthrow may have been due to the EU's refusal to grant Georgia candidate status in the European Union. It is worth noting that this reason did not come to fruition, and the EU eventually recommended Georgia as a candidate. Nonetheless, there remains a risk that USAID may employ tactics of violent regime change against Georgia, particularly if the Georgian government pursues independent policies that the United States deems to be excessive. 

It is no coincidence that Prime Minister Irakli Gharibashvili stated during a government meeting on October 2nd that the Georgian government was anticipating "official clarifications" from the U.S. while cautioning that unrest would not be tolerated in Georgia. Likewise, Chairman of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili referred to October 2, 2023, as a "black day in the history of American aid to Georgia" upon learning of detrimental activities by USAID. Chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Irakli Kobakhidze, stated that external forces have made multiple attempts to alter power in Georgia.

At the same time, Azerbaijan did not wait for USAID to take action to destabilize the situation in the country, but rather expelled the organization. Hikmet Hajiyev, Head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Azerbaijani Presidential Administration, stated that there is "no place for USAID activities" in Azerbaijan. He recalled the position of USAID Director Samantha Power as destructive: "As the permanent representative of the United States in the UN Security Council, she never brought up the situation of Azerbaijani refugees and IDPs nor demanded the implementation of UNSC resolutions. Award-winning Samantha Power partnered with the founder of this foundation, the well-known oligarch and launderer of "dirty money" Ruben Vardanyan." It is worth mentioning that in 2019, MEPs called for sanctions against Ruben Vardanyan over money laundering allegations. Later in October 2022, Vardanyan supposedly plotted a coup against the US-supported political leadership of Armenia after appearing in Karabakh.

The Aurora Prize project's potential shared values and interests of Azerbaijanophobia, Turkophobia, political corruption, greed, and political speculation between Vardanyan and Samantha Power should also be considered.  According to Hikmet Hajiyev, there is no longer room for USAID activities in Azerbaijan.

Also, Samantha Power, a professor at the University of Human Rights Practice, focused heavily on the alleged "Armenian genocide" in her book "A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide (2002)" without acknowledging the genocide and atrocities committed by both Dashnaks against Muslims. Power's book "The Problem from Hell" can also be considered propaganda. America and the Age of Genocide (2002) focuses heavily on the alleged "Armenian genocide," which many consider to be a myth perpetuated by Hay's unproven fabrications and falsifications. Conspicuously absent from the book are any mentions of the genocide and atrocities committed by Dashnaks against Muslim populations in the early 20th century, as well as the crimes and genocide committed by Armenia against the peaceful Azerbaijani population.

It is interesting to note that "full mutual understanding" still exists between USAID and Armenia. Just a day before USAID conducted pieces of training in Tbilisi on the violent overthrow of power in Georgia, Samantha Power arrived in Yerevan. During the visit, she expressed her support for both the Armenian authorities and the Hayan "Artsakh" separatists who were expelled from Azerbaijani Karabakh.

In early October 2023, a delegation from USAID, comprising Alex Sokolowski, the USAID Deputy Chief for Europe and Asia, John Allelo, the USAID Mission Director for Armenia, and Mike Lambright, the USAID Emergency Response Coordinator, held a meeting with representatives of the Armenian government. USAID assured the Government of Armenia of its preparedness to provide support in quickly responding to the present circumstances concerning the relocation of Hays from Karabakh.

USAID has allocated 28 million dollars to assist the Karabakh Hayes and intends to continue the support. While they have mostly returned to their country of citizenship, they fall under the category of "repatriates" rather than "forced migrants." Azerbaijan extended an offer to the Karabakh Hayes to become citizens, which still stands, but they have declined.

The Hayis migrated to Western Azerbaijan, considered historical Azerbaijani land. The local indigenous population, however, was expelled by force. Although Armenian statehood is internationally recognized on this territory, the authorities in Yerevan appear to threaten it with their aggressive policy and unwillingness to negotiate peace with their neighbors.

It appears that USAID favors the Hay ethnic group in the South Caucasus and supports the policy of Hay nationalists and revanchists over their neighbors. However, USAID has not offered aid to Azerbaijani refugees from Karabakh or the Republic of Armenia, nor to Georgian refugees from Abkhazia and Samachablo, despite there being over 400,000 of them. Furthermore, USAID does not plan to provide support to these groups in the near future. USAID has not allocated funds for this project, yet it has allocated funds for training in preparation for a coup d'état in Georgia.

Alexandre Zakhariadze