Georgian FM Meets with High Officials in Washington
In the wake of the Georgian PM receiving letters of critique and guidelines for improvement from Washington, David Zalkaliani, the Foreign Minister, visited the American capital to meet with representatives and officials to discuss the subject.
US Senators Jim Risch, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Jeanne Shaheen, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation, delivered a collaborative statement after the meeting with FM David Zalkaliani.
“Senator Shaheen and I had a productive conversation with Foreign Minister Zalkaliani today. After our recent letter to Prime Minister Gakharia, we reiterated our concerns about a weakening in the Georgian democracy and governance. We also discussed the current situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia, the Georgian territories illegally occupied by Russia since 2008. The Russian Federation continues to move its fences into Georgia, annexing small bits of land each time. The United States remains committed to supporting Georgia’s transition towards democracy, but we must continue to see positive improvements. We are not asking Georgia to be perfect, but the government must show us it is serious about its pursuit of democracy,” said Senator Risch.
“I was glad to meet with Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani this afternoon and have the opportunity to address several issues related to our nations’ partnership, particularly Georgia’s commitment to democracy and good governance. Senator Risch and I have a storied, bipartisan history in support of Georgia’s peaceful transition to democracy. In 2012, we participated in Georgia’s historic 2012 election as international monitors and were encouraged with their progress. As I’ve said before, democracy is a long-term effort, and Georgia, in particular, has faced outsized challenges posed by Russia. I’ll continue to urge Prime Minister Gakharia and the Georgian government to hold fast to their commitments to strengthen democratic institutions, promote judicial independence, move forward on promised electoral reforms and respect civil society engagement,” said Senator Shaheen after the meeting.
The FM also met with David Nunes, Republican Congressman, who reasserted his backing of Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic integration. He also emphasized that Georgia is an important contributor to the security of the Alliance, and the United States is fixed to pursuing a tight partnership with the country.
“We will continue a firm partnership with Georgia. The Trump administration and Republicans in Congress want NATO to be molded into a more resilient Alliance for us to be able to help countries like Georgia. Georgia is putting outstanding effort into Afghanistan, in our collective battle against terrorism. I am happy to have met with Georgia’s Foreign Minister. We will continue our close partnership with Georgia, in accordance with the country’s strengthening and economic prosperity.” Says Congressman Nunes.
The official meeting encompassed focal topics such as Georgian-American strategic relations, Georgia’s European integration and the progress in this field, as well as America’s stance and aid in realizing these goals.
By Beka Alexishvili