Georgia could become major US partner

The United States Senate are voting on a bill to declare Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova as major allies of the US despite the countries not having NATO membership.

The Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee will vote on the legislation today, hours after Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko addresses a joint meeting of Congress.

If passed, the legislation will require the US President to apply sanctions against:

• Rosoboronexport and other Russian defense firms that contribute to instability in Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia and Syria;
• Companies worldwide that make significant investments in particular unconventional Russian crude oil energy projects;
• Russian gas giant Gazprom, if the President determines that Gazprom is withholding significant natural gas supplies from NATO member countries or withholding its supplies from countries such as Ukraine, Georgia or Moldova.

The bill also authorised $10 million USD for the next three fiscal years to promote Russian-language broadcasting in Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova to counter Russian propaganda in the former Soviet Union countries.