SFRC Staff Director Holds Meetings with Georgian Officials in Tbilisi

Senate the Foreign Relations Committee Staff Director, Chris Socha, arrived in Tbilisi to meet with Georgian administrative and opposition officials.

The SFRC Staff Director met with the Georgian Prime Minister Gakharia, as well as parliamentarians and NGO representatives.

The US embassy issued a statement in which they summarize the formal meetings held with the Senate official: “In all of his meetings, Mr. Socha reiterated the United States’ commitment to Georgia's territorial integrity and its Euro-Atlantic integration. He specifically raised the situation in Abkhazia and South Ossetia under Russia's illegal occupation,” read the statement.       

The statement issued by the Embassy further states what Mr. Socha had to say about Georgia’s internal political problems, such as the issue of polarization and the legitimate functioning of Georgia’s democratic institutions.

“[Mr. Socha] also discussed concerns about a weakening of Georgian democracy and governance and carried a clear message from the chairman of the committee, US Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), that the United States supports Georgia's democratic development, but the institutions of government must respect everyone's political rights and continue to strengthen the checks and balances that ensure government power is properly constrained.” reads the statement.

By Beka Alexishvili