Republican donor lobbies in favor of anti-Western Georgian Dream

* Republican donor Steve Nicandros lobbied against legislation targeting Georgian Dream, letter shows * Legislation's sponsor, Republican Rep. Joe Wilson, expresses frustration over Nicandros' activities * Georgian Dream criticized roundly for democratic backsliding, relationship with Moscow By Gram Slattery WASHINGTON, Oct 23 (Reuters) – A political donor with business interests in the country of Georgia has privately lobbied lawmakers in recent weeks against legislation that would pressure that nation's anti-Western ruling party, angering a high-ranking congressional Republican and aggravating a growing fight on Capitol Hill over policy toward the major Russian trading partner. A bipartisan group of lawmakers has been struggling to pass legislation to punish the increasingly authoritarian, Moscow-leaning government in Tbilisi, even as U.S. President Donald Trump has shown a growing willingness to pressure the Kremlin over its war in Ukraine, slapping major Russian oil companies with sweeping sanctions on Wednesday. Among the efforts to hit Tbilisi is a measure sponsored by Republican Representative Joe Wilson that would largely prohibit the U.S. government from recognizing the Georgian government, which is headed by populist conservative party Georgian Dream. Texas-based oil executive and Republican donor Steve Nicandros, however, sent a letter dated Sept. 30 to some Republican members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee thanking them for opposing that measure. His letter, which was seen by Reuters, also encouraged lawmakers to take further steps to oppose final passage of the measure, which is awaiting a floor vote after clearing the committee. Wilson, who sponsored the bill and is co-chair of a commission involved with policies on the Caucasus region, said he was concerned by Nicandros' efforts to thwart the bill. Nicandros did not respond to emailed requests for comment. In his letter, Nicandros, the chief executive of energy firm TXN Energy, argued that Georgian Dream was democratically elected, and that such a measure could push Georgia further into Russia's orbit and harm U.S. business interests, including his own. TXN Energy has operated in Georgia since 1997, the letter said. "For companies like ours that employ people and invest in Georgia, stable bilateral relations are critical," the letter read. Nicandros' lobbying effort and Wilson's objection represent the latest episode in a long-running saga on Capitol Hill. High-ranking lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have harshly criticized the government in Tbilisi for deploying increasingly authoritarian tactics and serving as an economic lifeline to Moscow. Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Georgian trade with Russia has expanded significantly, with the nation serving as a crucial conduit for Russian exports. U.S. legislators have broadly accused the Georgian Dream party of distancing Georgia from the West in favor of Moscow, Tehran and Beijing. But attempts to pass legislation to put pressure on Georgian Dream have struggled to advance, and frustrations among Georgia watchers are boiling over. A separate piece of legislation that would sanction Georgian Dream has stalled in the Senate after passing in the House of Representatives in May by a 349-42 vote margin. Representative Steve Cohen, a Democrat, lamented that bill's lack of progress despite extremely broad support on both sides of the aisle at a public hearing in September. "It's amazing that it's happened, and why it's happened, I do not understand it," he said of that bill's fate. PUSHING FOR MAXIMUM PRESSURE ON RUSSIA The Wilson measure's path to final passage is itself tenuous given that there is no companion in the Senate. Nicandros' letter was provided to Reuters by a senior Republican aide who was concerned Nicandros was further diminishing the prospects of the legislation. While some lawmakers have pushed for maximum pressure on Russia and its trading partners in a bid to force President Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table with Ukraine, others have favored a conciliatory line toward Moscow and its putative allies. Trump has himself veered between both positions. Wilson said he would also pursue the matter as co-chair of the U.S. Helsinki Commission, an agency that frequently deals with foreign policy matters in the Caucasus. "As Co-Chairman of the Helsinki Commission, a body with subpoena power, I will endeavor to learn more about the operations of this individual," Wilson wrote in an email. The Georgian ambassador in Washington, Tamar Taliashvili, wrote in a statement that while Nicandros is a "trailblazer," her government has no lobbying affiliations in the U.S. Nicandros has donated over $200,000 to Republican lawmakers and affiliated political action committees and Hill committees, according to Open Secrets, a website that tracks campaign finance data. Reuters could not determine if those donations have had any bearing on lawmakers' votes. Taliashvili, the Georgian ambassador, wrote in her email that bilateral relations deteriorated under former U.S. President Joe Biden, but had a chance to improve under Trump. "Concerning Mr. Steven Nicandros – he is an American businessman, widely recognized as one of the earliest trailblazers to introduce well-established U.S. enterprise to the South Caucasian region in the wake of Georgia's independence from the Soviet Union." (Reporting by Gram Slattery; Editing by Don Durfee, Deepa Babington and Edmund Klamann)

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