On 22 May, the foreign affairs committee of the US house of representatives approved a bipartisan bill, the Georgia’s Support Act, 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 region (South Ossetia), reported agenda.ge.
The bill pays particular attention to the Georgia-US cooperation in the defence field and instructs the US secretary of state to provide a five-year-strategy in this regard with the cooperation of relevant state agencies”, the Georgian foreign ministry reports. A closer cooperation between the US and Georgia in the field of cyber security was also emphasized in the bill.
The introduction of 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 is also considered in the bill. The bill also urges the US government to encourage negotiations with Georgia regarding the freedom of trade. The bill needs to be confirmed by other committees, then it has to be voted on in the house of representatives and the senate and be signed by president Trump to come into play. The bill is another milestone which reflects Georgia’s aspirations for a closer cooperation with the USA.
While the Georgian government seems to build a tighter cooperation with the USA, it seems to alienate itself more from Russia. The president of Georgia, Salome Zourabichvili, told at an Estonian public broadcaster that she would not have a dialogue with the Russian president Vladimir Putin, reported georgiatoday. “Today, the problem of all European partners in relations with Russia is that Russia does not act correctly towards the international community and respects nothing. This applies not only to Georgia, but in general. So what type of dialogue should we have under such conditions? I will not have a dialogue with Putin. I will only remind him that he has violated all the obligations”, Zourabichvili said, adding that there are no frozen conflicts in Georgia, only occupied territories.
