Georgia president holds talks on 'how to save' the country as U.S., EU and NATO decry 'Russian law'

• The U.S., European Union, NATO and the United Nations have all issued statements expressing concern about Georgia's new legislation, which opposition lawmakers have denounced as the "Russian law."
• The "foreign agents" bill calls for media outlets, nonprofits and other nongovernmental organizations in the country to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
• Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Wednesday said that the country had always fought for independence, and it would "never go back into Russian hands."

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Wednesday held talks with European ministers to urgently discuss "how to save" the country, shortly after lawmakers adopted a deeply divisive Russia-style foreign influence bill.

The U.S., European Union, NATO and the United Nations have all issued statements expressing concern about Georgia's new legislation, which opposition lawmakers have denounced as the "Russian law."

The "foreign agents" bill calls for media outlets, nonprofits and other nongovernmental organizations in the country to register as "pursuing the interests of a foreign power" if they receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.

Russia, which occupies about 20% of Georgia's internationally recognized territory, has used similar legislation to crack down on independent news media and activists critical of the Kremlin.

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of the capital Tbilisi in recent weeks to voice their opposition to the law, which critics say could jeopardize Georgia's chances of joining the EU and push the country back into Russia's orbit.

Georgian lawmakers on Tuesday approved the legislation, with 84