President Saakashvili said on December 22, that “hundreds of millions are being spent on anti-Georgian propaganda.”

“Only in recent days in western media, western journalists have broken out several scandals on how Russian security services are financing the campaign against Georgia with the hands of western PR-companies and with the hands of some western journalists and some western newspapers,” Saakashvili said.

He was apparently referring to The Associated Press report about head of the Tskhinvali-based non-governmental organization Lira Tskhovrebova’s alleged links to the South Ossetian and Russian security services. The report came amid Tskhovrebova’s visit to the United States, which was organized and planned by U.S.-based public-relations firm, Saylor Company. 

While saying that attempts are made to engage “some western journalists and some western newspapers” in “anti-Georgian campaign,” Saakashvili was apparently referring to a story, which was recently published by the Atlantic magazine, in which a Washington-based journalist describes how Russian embassy employee tried to convince him on cooperation.

“But we should not get afraid of [this campaign]. The West is a democratic society. There are various newspapers there. There is this type of PR-companies, but there is other type of PR-companies as well and there are more civilized, cultural and normal persons. Therefore, under conditions of democracy and freedom, they will fail to prevail over us. The truth will eventually find its way,” Saakashvili said.