Source: United States Senator for Ohio Rob Portman
June 3, 2021 | Press Releases
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Rob Portman (R-OH), senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, joined Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) in Georgia as the final stop of their bipartisan congressional delegation in Eastern Europe. They met with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani, members of Parliament, and members of civil society to discuss how the U.S. can support Georgia in its vision for democracy by implementing the April 19th agreement. They also visited the Administrative Boundary Line of the Russian-occupied Georgian territory of South Ossetia.
“Today, I was heartened by the productive, bipartisan meetings Senator Shaheen and I had in Georgia with Prime Minister Garbashvili, Foreign Minister Zalkaliani, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan, members of Parliament, and members of civil society, in which we discussed ways to bolster democracy in Georgia. I encouraged the Georgian leaders to continue to implement and make progress on the April 19th Agreement, electoral and judicial reforms,” said Portman. “I strongly support full NATO membership for Georgia – their commitment to free and democratic values are in line with NATO’s and it is time to fulfill the promise made in the 2008 Bucharest Agreement.”
Earlier in the week, the senators, along with Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT), met with Belarusian opposition leader Svyatlana Tsikhanouskaya in Lithuania and discussed the Lukashenka regime’s increasing human rights abuses against political opposition, including the recent hijacking of a civilian airliner to unlawfully arrest and detain journalist Raman Pratasevich. They also stopped in Ukraine and met with members of civil society, President Volodymyr Zelensky, and other representatives of the Ukrainian government to discuss how to advance anti-corruption efforts and empower a free, independent media.
###