US senators call on Georgian political parties to promptly implement April 19 agreement
By Khatia Bzhalava
Thursday, June 24
US Senators Ronald Johnson, Jeanne Shaheen, and Jim Risch submitted a resolution to the Senate calling on all parties in Georgia to promptly implement the agreement signed on April 19. The senators reaffirm the support of the Senate for Georgia’s territorial integrity and the Euro-Atlantic aspirations.
The resolution calls on the Georgian Dream, the United National Movement, and the other parties elected to the Parliament to fully implement the EU-mediated agreement. The senators urge all MPs to take up their seats in parliament and begin addressing the challenges facing Georgia, including in terms of COVID–19 pandemic, a weakened economy, and challenging regional dynamics.
The resolution also calls on the Government of Georgia to implement systemic reforms, developed through an inclusive and transparent consultation process with all parties, to ensure an impartial and independent judiciary that does not serve political or partisan purposes. It also urges the government to inclusively and transparently developed systemic electoral reforms in order to address the causes of the political impasse and prevent the recurrence of such a crisis.
“The Senate recognizes that the political situation in Georgia has been exacerbated by the efforts of the Russian Federation to sow chaos throughout Georgia, including the illegally occupied territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia,” reads the resolution.
As the document notes, the senate expresses concern that the obstacles on the way to strengthening Georgia’s democratic institutions and processes will slow the progress toward Euro-Atlantic integration “and could result in conditions placed on United States assistance to Georgia.”
The document also reads that the United States supports a stronger democracy in Georgia “with governing institutions that demonstrate integrity, checks and balances, transparency, the capacity to counter Russian and other malign influence, and the ability to achieve the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the people of Georgia.”
