State Department spokesperson: We'll continue to stand resolutely behind independent media, whether it’s in Georgia, whether it is anywhere around the world

We have been quite clear, quite candid with our Georgian partners about the continued need to strengthen the pillars of democracy that we want to see bolstered in Georgia, that we want to see bolstered around the world, stated US State Department spokesperson Ned Price.

Asked about the verdict on Nika Gvaramia, the founder of the Mtavari TV, Ned Price said that the United States continues to stand by independent media, whether in Georgia or elsewhere.

"We have been quite clear, quite candid with our Georgian partners about the continued need to strengthen the pillars of democracy that we want to see bolstered in Georgia, that we want to see bolstered around the world. That includes democratic institutions; it includes the rule of law as well. And we’ll continue to partner with the people of Georgia as they pursue a democratic, prosperous, peaceful, and Euro-Atlantic future.

When it comes to media freedom, you have heard us consistently speak to the indispensability of a free, of an independent media the world over. Secretary Blinken just a couple weeks spoke to this in extended remarks at the Foreign Press Center here in Washington, D.C., where he extolled the virtue and really the necessity of a free and independent media, noting that over the past year, too many journalists have been repressed, too much of their work has been suppressed, and too many tragically have been wounded or even killed in the line of duty. And of course, their duty is to do nothing more than to report the truth, to spread the truth the world over using nothing more than a pen and perhaps a keyboard.

So we’ll continue to stand resolutely behind independent media, whether it’s in Georgia, whether it is anywhere around the world," Price said.