U.S. Senators Shaheen, Portman Begin Georgia Visit

U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), a senior member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senator Rob Portman (R-OH) arrived in Tbilisi yesterday for their June 2-4 visit.

Commencing their Georgia trip, the two senators paid a field visit earlier this morning in the villages of Zemo Nikozi and Ergneti, located next to the Russian occupation line of Tskhinvali Region/South Ossetia, where they were hosted by the European Union Monitoring Mission. EUMM Head Marek Szczygieł briefed the U.S. lawmakers on security developments on the ground and the current humanitarian situation of the conflict-affected population.

First stop is in Zemo Nikozi village. 🇺🇸 @SenatorShaheen and @senrobportman are briefed on the current security situation in the area, with a focus on ‘borderisation’ activities, such as wire fences, observation posts and surveillance equipment or 'border signs' pic.twitter.com/b1zPvRUY3N

— EUMM Georgia (@EUMMGeorgia) June 3, 2021

The senators are later today meeting government officials, civil society representatives, and leaders of opposition parties that have taken up their mandates in the Parliament.

The visit comes as most of the opposition parties have either already entered or announced they will be taking up their mandates. The United National Movement was the latest to announce, on May 30, that its MPs will enter the legislature but not sign the EU-brokered April 19 deal. Senator Shaheen previously on March 23 expressed her hope that the then-ongoing political crisis would be resolved by the U.S. Memorial Day, May 31.

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