Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili on Saturday vetoed a controversial law against NGOs passed by parliament, in an expected move after the bill was approved.
Pro-European Zurabishvili said the law, which requires foreign-funded organizations to register as "foreign agents", was "Russian in its essence and spirit."
However, her veto can be overruled by parliament.
On Tuesday, Georgia's parliament passed the controversial legislation despite angry protests in Tbilisi and urging by the European Union and the United States not to adopt it.
Thousands of people have been demonstrating against the law, fearing it threatens Georgia's path to EU membership and the silencing of organizations and media critical of the government - as in Russia, which has passed similar legislation.
Georgia has EU candidate country status since the end of last year.
The law on restricting foreign influence on civil society in Georgia was passed by parliament in Tbilisi in its third reading at the beginning of the week, despite weeks of massive protests by tens of thousands of people.
Zurabishvili said that the law "contradicts our constitution and all European standards and thus represents an obstacle on our European path."
But the governing majority approved the law that seeks to limit foreign influence on non-governmental organizations, tightening accountability for aid organizations and independent media that receive more than 20% of their funding from abroad.
