Civil Georgia
February 21, 2023
U.S. Senators Meet with Prime Minister, Opposition, CSOs
Following the meeting with Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, visiting U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Dick Durbin met with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, opposition politicians and representatives of civil society organizations on February 20. After the official part of the visit, the U.S. Senators held a concluding press conference.
According to the Georgian government’s press office, the participants discussed the U.S.-Georgia strategic partnership….They noted that “the partnership between the two countries is based on shared values and interests, Georgia is a reliable partner and a committed ally of the United States in the region and beyond, and appreciated the strong bipartisan support of the United States.”
The sides also underscored the importance of the visit “at a critical time for the European region and the world,” stressing that it is an important signal of the U.S. support to the public….
The participants also focused on the granting of EU candidate status to Georgia, noting the strong support of the United States in this process.
They also discussed the situation in the occupied regions. In this context PM Garibashvili said that he “welcomes the appointment of Louis Bono as Senior Advisor for Caucasus Negotiations.” He also thanked the U.S. Senators for their unwavering support for Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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Meeting with opposition, CSOs
Following the meeting with the U.S. Senators, MP Khatia Dekanoidze of the United National Movement said that they discussed the issues related to democracy, Georgia’s EU integration, “as well as political prisoners.” “Their main task is to make Georgia a full member of the Euro-Atlantic area,” she said.
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Eka Gigauri, head of Transparency International Georgia, said: “We discussed the challenges we face in addressing the EU’s 12 priorities….They were interested in our vision of how to stop the democratic backsliding that is evident in our country.”
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The U.S. Embassy posted a photo of a meeting between the visiting U.S. senators and representatives of Georgian civil society organizations, saying “the United States will continue supporting Georgian civil society and our partnership to strengthen the country’s institutions.”
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The senators refrained from commenting on specific legal charges brought against the former President [ Mikheil Saakashvili]. Instead, they stressed that it is the responsibility of the Georgian Government to take care of any prisoner and, as said by senator Durbin, to be” humane” and prevent any future harm.
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Senator Durbin called the Georgian government to “take these recommendations very seriously” and to go beyond focusing on passing legislation, paying equal attention to the enforcement of those laws.
When asked about the “Draft Law on Foreign Agents” Senator Shaheen stressed that “the law that has been introduced in Georgia’s legislature is not the same as the U.S. law” drawing parallel between the Georgian draft and its Russian and Hungarian analogues, which are recognized to be inconsistent with EU standards.
Regarding the question about West “dragging Georgia into war”, Senator Durbin briefly answered that the U.S. is making sure to protect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and Georgia and making sure that Russia does not do more harm in the future….
…Senator Shaheen pointed out that she and Senator Durbin had sponsored legislation to “ask the U.S. administration to come up with a strategy relative to the Black Sea.” She highlighted the strategic importance of the Black Sea region and expressed hope that more American businesses would invest in Georgia’s economy.
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Civil Georgia
February 20, 2023
U.S. Embassy: The United States will Continue Supporting Georgian Civil Society
“The United States will continue supporting Georgian civil society and our partnership to strengthen the country’s institutions.” – the US embassy wrote on Facebook on 20 February, posting a photo of a meeting between the visiting US senators and representatives of Georgian civil society organizations.
“It is not a coincidence that one of the Kremlin’s targets in Georgia is civil society….,” the U.S. Embassy said.
It also noted that “Georgia must continue to advance democratic reforms to achieve the goal of a safer, more prosperous European future….”
The US Embassy’s statement of support for civil society comes a few days after People’s Power submitted the draft law on foreign agents. The draft law has successfully passed the approval of the Parliamentary Bureau and has been submitted to the Legal, Defence and Security, and Foreign Relations Committees for consideration. The Parliamentary Bureau held its meeting under the protest of media representatives, who called on MPs not to adopt [a] “Russian law”.
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The Messenger
February 21, 2023
President Salome Zourabichvili Meets with US Senators in Orbeliani Palace
President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili met with US Senators, Jeanne Shahin and Dick Durbin, according to the information released by the President’s Administration.
According to the administration, among the discussed issues were Georgia’s European integration, the war in Ukraine and the security environment created in the Black Sea region.
The American senators stated at the meeting held in the Orbeliani palace that they appreciate the role and position of the Georgian president in the direction of European integration….
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President Zourabichvili said that a strategic decision should be made regarding the granting of the EU membership candidate status to Georgia, and Georgia should not be refused a second time.
The conversation touched on the war in Ukraine, the security environment in the region and the importance of the Black Sea security issue.
It was noted that the issue of opening a second front in Georgia is only organized by Russia, which not only carried out aggression on Georgia in August 2008, but has been doing so for the second century.
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Rustavi2
February 21, 2023
Delegation of Lelo left for Ukraine
Delegation of the Lelo party left for Ukraine. On February 24, at the invitation of the Ukrainian side, they will attend the special session of the Rada dedicated to the 1st anniversary of the start of the Russia-Ukraine war.
The Chairman Mamuka Khazaradze, Secretary General Badri Japaridze, political secretary Salome Samadashvili and foreign secretary Grigol Gegelia will participate in the event.
Within the framework of the 3-day visit, they will also hold meetings in the Rada, where they will meet with representatives of the ruling party of Ukraine and the political spectrum.
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Agenda.ge
February 21, 2023
Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri on Tuesday told the Parliament the granting of the NATO Operational Partner status to the country’s Border Police units had been a “major achievement” of the past year.
In his address for briefing MPs on his office’s work over 2022, Gomelauri noted the units had received the status for the bloc’s Operation Sea Guardian in the Mediterranean, launched in 2016….
Gomelauri also said the “successful accomplishment” of the four-stage evaluation of the Georgian professionals had marked a “new phase of practical cooperation” between the alliance’s Allied Maritime Command and Georgia’s Coast Guard, which operates under the Border Police structure.
NATO describes Sea Guardian as a “flexible operation that can potentially cover the full range of the alliance’s maritime security operation tasks”.
Anti-bellum 