US Senate approves bill countering Russian actions in Georgia

The United States Senate has approved a bill featuring measures to counter Russian influence in Europe and Eurasia, including in Georgia.

The bill was approved on June 15 with 97 votes in favour and two against.

The bill says that the Russian government continues to ignore the terms of the August 2008 ceasefire agreement relating to Georgia, which requires the withdrawal of Russian Federation troops, free access by humanitarian groups to the regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, and monitoring of the conflict areas by the European Union Monitoring Mission.

According to the bill, the US President should call on the government of Russia to withdraw all of its forces from the territories of Georgia, Ukraine, and Moldova.

Under the bill, the US should allocate $250 million in 2018-2019 "to counter the influence of the Russian Federation in Europe and Eurasia, and for other purposes.” This will include both maintaining existing sanctions and imposing additional ones in response to Russia’s illegal activities.

Now that the bill is approved, the US Secretary of State has 90 days to set up a working group to manage the fund tasked to counter Russian actions in Europe and Eurasia.