NATO PA President Gerald E. Connolly, who also serves as the Georgia Caucus Co-Chair in the U.S. House of Representatives, said on February 18 that “overcoming the protracted political impasse is crucial for Georgia’s democratic future and for its Euro-Atlantic integration.”
This, according to the NATO PA President, “can only be achieved by creating the conditions necessary for dialogue and trust between majority and opposition.”
He called on both the Georgian authorities and the opposition “to exercise utmost restraint and to commit urgently to addressing this latest crisis and their underlying differences through peaceful negotiations.”
Recalling his recent reintroduction of the Georgia Support Act in the Congress, Mr. Connolly said along with demonstrating the U.S.’s “robust support of Georgia’s sovereignty and security, especially in the face of Russian aggression,” the bill also “stresses the importance of the continued development of democratic values in Georgia, including free and fair elections, public sector transparency and accountability, the rule of law, and anti-corruption efforts.”
“Shared democratic values, both among NATO members and our partners like Georgia, are our strongest weapon against autocracies in Moscow, Beijing and elsewhere,” the NATO PA President concluded.
Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia’s resigned on February 18 morning over United National Movement chair Nika Melia’s coming pre-trial detention. The moves came as the opposition refuses to recognize “fraud” October 2020 general election results, boycotts the new Parliament and calls for the new elections. The Georgian Dream party already named former PM and incumbent Defense Minister Irakli Garibashvili, known for his scathing rhetoric against the opposition, as PM candidate.
- Irakli Garibashvili to Return as Prime Minister
- Opposition Calls for Snap Elections, Renewed Talks with GD
- PM Giorgi Gakharia Resigns over Melia’s Detention
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