US senators visit Georgia

On February 19, US senators arrived in Georgia for a surprise visit, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on European and Regional Security Cooperation Jean Shaheen and Chairman of the Ukrainian Senate Group Dick Durbin. The senators arrived in Tbilisi after attending the Munich Security Conference. After Georgia, they will go to Romania.
During the visit, Shahin and Durbin have already had talks with representatives of political parties, civil society, President Salome Zurabishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili.
A statement on behalf of the senators, released by the US Embassy in Georgia, says that in meetings in Tbilisi, US lawmakers will discuss bilateral relations, the Georgian parliamentary elections scheduled for 2024 and the geopolitical significance of the Black Sea region.
“The Black Sea is a geopolitical region of critical importance to European security, especially in light of Russia’s brutal war in Ukraine. Vladimir Putin is already acting to expand his disruptive influence in the region, and we know that his hegemonic ambitions go beyond taking over Ukraine. It is important for the United States to actively cooperate with our Black Sea partners and form a more effective policy toward the region. This is exactly what I intend to discuss over the next few days,” Jin Shaheen said in a statement.
As for the upcoming elections in Georgia, according to Shaheen, it is “an opportunity to advance the democratic agenda”.
“I urge our partners to prioritize these same issues in the process of creating a better future for the people of Georgia and achieving greater stability in the region,” Senator Shahin said.
In turn, Senator Dick Durbin writes that having survived “Russia’s cynical seizure of Georgian lands” in 2008, Georgia is well aware of the threat posed by Putin.
“With the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was a remarkable prospect of defining the future of the country directly within the framework of the transatlantic democracies – a vision which has not yet been fully realized, but I hope to contribute to its subsequent implementation during the visit,” Senator Dick Durbin said in a statement.
Representatives of opposition parties told reporters that the meeting with senators also discussed a bill on the regulation of non-governmental organizations and the media, presented to the Georgian parliament by a group of anti-Western MPs who officially split from the ruling Georgian Dream party. Earlier, on February 16, the US State Department expressed extreme concern over the possible passage of this law in Georgia, as, according to the US State Department, it will negatively affect freedom of expression in the country. and could potentially undermine Georgia’s euro plans. -Atlantic integration.
According to opponents, the meeting with senators Shahin and Durbin also touched on the issue of the imprisonment of the head of the opposition television channel, Nika Gvaramia, who, according to opponents of the Georgian authorities, was sentenced for policies.
It should be noted that over the past two years, a number of US senators and congressmen, including Jean Shaheen, have approached the Georgian authorities, expressing concern over the country’s slowing democratic development and calling for necessary reforms. in Georgia. At the same time, the Georgian authorities explained the presence of partner questions by the fact that American lawmakers are “insufficiently informed”.
Information about the meeting with the senators on February 20 was also released by the press service of Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili. The report indicates that the parties discussed the European integration of Georgia, the war in Ukraine, as well as the security situation in the Black Sea region.
“It was noted that the question of opening a “second front” in Georgia can only suit Russia, which carried out aggression against Georgia not only in August 2008, but continued it in course of the last two centuries”, declared the press service of the President of the Republic. Georgia said in a statement.
It should be noted that Salome Zurabishvili has repeatedly refuted the narrative of Georgian authorities, as well as political forces close to them, that the West and “senior officials” in Kiev are allegedly trying “to open a second front in Georgia parallel to the Ukrainian front.
“The subject of opening a ‘second front’ is a fiction, none of our partners, and I say this with all responsibility… nowhere, not once, have I made such a call. .. it’s fiction, it’s a hoax,” Zurabishvili said last June of the year.
Notably, US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan has also repeatedly called statements about a “second front” “lies and conspiracy theories” as well as “pro-Russian misinformation.”
However, in the ruling Georgian Dream party, to this day, criticism of the withdrawal from democracy by Western partners is explained by the “discontent” of the West, allegedly caused by the fact that Georgia refuses to enter at war with Russia.