Foreign Affairs Committee of US House of Representatives approves bipartisan bill supporting Georgia

The bill urges closer defence, economic cooperation between Georgia and the US. Photo:adobestock.

Agenda.ge, 23 May 2019 - 17:59, Tbilisi,Georgia

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the US House of Representatives approved a bipartisan bill-Georgia’s Support Act yesterday, which urges further support for Georgia in the defence field and proposes sanctions against the individuals who violated human rights in the two Georgian occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).

The bill was presented in January 2019 by the co-chairs of Georgia’s Friends Club in the US Congress Adam Kinzinger and Gerry Connolly.

The  bill pays particular attention to the Georgia-US cooperation in the defence field and instructs the US State Secretary to provide a five-year-strategy in this regard with the cooperation of relevant state agencies,” the Georgian  Foreign Ministry reports.

The Georgian Foreign Ministry released the video regarding the bill. 

The document reads that closer cooperation between the US and Georgia in cyber security is necessary.

The bill says that the US should introduce sanctions against individuals who are listed on the Georgian-parliament approved Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili list – that is against those who have violated the rights of Georgian citizens in Tskhinvali or Abkhazia since the 1990s.

The document expresses support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and the country’s Euro-Atlantic goals.

The bill also urges the US government to encourage negotiations with Georgia regarding the free trade, which, of course, is very important for us, together with other issues written is the bill. The document is the sign of a big political support,” Georgian Vice- Parliament Speaker Tamar Chugoshvili said.

Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani stated that the bill confirms Georgia is on the top of the US agenda.

Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze said that the approval of the bill “confirmed once again that the US-Georgia relations are at an all-time high.”

The bill needs to be confirmed by other committees, then voted in the House of Representatives and the Senate and signed by President Donald Trump to come into play.