US senators visit occupation line in Georgia
US senators visited the occupation line in the village of Zemo Nikozi, central Georgia, earlier today. Photo: EUMM press office.
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US Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Rob Portman, who arrived in Georgia late yesterday, visited the occupation line near the village of Zemo Nikozi earlier today which separates the country’s Russian-occupied Tskhinvali region from the rest of Georgia.
The European Union Monitoring Mission accompanied the senators at the scene and briefed them about the situation on the ground.
Today, @EUMMGeorgia hosts ???????? Senators @SenatorShaheen and @senrobportman for a field visit to the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL) with South Ossetia. @EUMMGeorgia_HoM just welcomed the visitors to proceed with a patrol to Zemo Nikozi village. pic.twitter.com/gwXPnH8Eig
— EUMM Georgia (@EUMMGeorgia) June 3, 2021
The senators are scheduled to meet with government, opposition and civic sector representatives during their two-day visit.
US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan stated yesterday that the senators are interested in Georgia’s democratic reforms and whether the country’s Euro-Atlantic aspirations are as strong as earlier.
First stop is in Zemo Nikozi village. ???????? @SenatorShaheen and @senrobportman are briefed on the current security situation in the area, with a focus on ‘borderisation’ activities, such as wire fences, observation posts and surveillance equipment or 'border signs' pic.twitter.com/b1zPvRUY3N
— EUMM Georgia (@EUMMGeorgia) June 3, 2021
The Georgian Ambassador to the US David Bakradze has stated that the senators’s visit is ‘timely and important.’
He said that the visit once again reaffirms the US’s firm support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and its democratic advancement.
Jeanne Shaheen, a ranking member of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is ‘surprised and disappointed’ that all parties in Georgia ‘have allowed the current crisis to last so long’.
US Senators Jim Risch and Jeanne Shaheen are ‘deeply concerned’ by recent political developments in Georgia. Hoping ‘this political crisis will come to an end quickly and peacefully’, they said that ‘all sides of the political spectrum must now return to the negotiating table and de-escalate the political atmosphere’.
A congressional delegation led by US Senator Jeanne Shaheen, and including Senator Rob Portman, will visit Georgia next week to reaffirm US commitment. Shaheen and Portman will visit Georgia to send a bipartisan message that the United States stands with the people of Georgia in their efforts to strengthen their democracy.
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee chairman Jim Risch and Senator Jeanne Shaheen have made a joint statement ahead of the October 31 parliamentary elections in Georgia, noting the importance for all political parties in the country to respect and abide by international standards for a free and fair electoral process.
United States Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Rob Portman have met with the government and opposition in Georgia as the final stop of their bipartisan congressional delegation in Eastern Europe. During the meeting with PM Irakli Garibashvili the US senators discussed the Georgia-US strategic partnership as well as Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic aspirations and the importance of Black Sea security.
The Georgian government has established a commission to create a Georgian State Strategy for Deoccupation and Peaceful Conflict Resolution. The commission will be managed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The commission will be set up with public involvement, and will develop an inclusive and comprehensive state strategy by the end of the year.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia has appealed for "essential effort" from the international community in the process of ending the ongoing occupation of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) regions of Georgia, in a release on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the occupation.
Georgian and foreign officials and diplomatic missions have issued condemnations of Russia's ongoing occupation of two of Georgia's regions and called on the Russian government to comply with the ceasefire agreement that ended the 2008 war between the two countries, on the eve of the 13th anniversary of the conflict.
Five US Congressmen, Alex Mooney, Kelly Michael Armstrong, Bryan George Steil, Carol Devine Miller and Ronald Jean Estes arrived in Georgia earlier today. While in Georgia between September 6-9 the US legislators will meet with Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani, Defence Minister Juansher Burchuladze, Minister of Economy Natia Turnava and Georgian MPs.
Five US Congressmen – Bryan George Steil, Carol Devine Miller, Alex Mooney, Ronald Jean Estes and Kelly Michael Armstrong – have visited the Georgian village of Odzisi, near the administrative boundary separating the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region from the country.
US Senate Minority Leader Senator Mitch McConnell has thanked Georgia for ‘courage and firm stand’ against Russia at the meeting with the Ambassador of Georgia to the US Davit Bakradze. Ambassador Bakradze has hosted members of the Republican National Lawyers' Association (RNLA) and Senator McConnell earlier today at the Embassy of Georgia to the US.