Georgia in U.S. Intelligence Report

Economic slowdown will be an area of “greatest immediate concern” in Georgia, according to U.S. intelligence community’s annual report, Worldwide Threat Assessment.

“Georgia’s new political leaders have inherited pressing domestic and foreign policy problems amid high public expectations for progress,” reads the report presented by Director of National Intelligence, James Clapper, to the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence on January 29.

“The economy, which has slowed since the Georgian Dream Coalition was elected in October 2012, will be an area of greatest immediate concern,” it says.

“The new government will also continue to balance a series of high-profile legal cases against former government officials for past abuses. The cases, while popular inside Georgia, have generated concerns of political retribution abroad and risk polarizing Georgian politics,” reads the report.

“Tensions with Russia have eased over the past year, decreasing the risk of renewed conflict. Progress nonetheless remains unlikely on the core disputes between Tbilisi and Moscow,” it says.

A previous report, which was released in March 2013, was pointing at “increased risk of domestic political instability” amid challenging political transition.