U.S. Urges Georgia to ‘Take All Possible Steps to Support Ukraine’

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged the Georgian government “to take all possible steps to support Ukraine and to hold the Russian Federation accountable for its war crimes,” in a letter congratulating Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on his appointment to the post.

The missive — dated April 22 and published in the Georgian media today — also highlighted that “although much work remains to strengthen democratic institutions and processes, diversify the economy, and resolve regional conflicts,” the U.S. will stand with the people of Georgia in the said efforts.

The State Secretary told his Georgian counterpart that the U.S. also “remains steadfastly committed to our strategic partnership with Georgia.”

Secretary Blinken highlighted the two countries’ partnership toward global security over the last 30 years and commended “Georgia’s leadership on the global and regional stage over the years, particularly in the face of Kremlin aggression.”

“The United States condemns Russia’s ongoing occupation of Georgia and will continue to firmly support Georgia’s sovereignty and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders,” he added.

U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, Kelly Degnan has previously stressed that “is expected of every country, my country, and every country that is standing against this Russian aggression is that there will be compliance with the international sanctions regime.”

Meanwhile, the Georgian Dream government has faced accusations from Kyiv of aiding Russia to evade sanctions. The GD leadership has denied the claims and reiterated that Georgia is in full compliance with the measures.

As for bilateral sanctions, the GD Government has rejected imposing any measures, arguing they would contravene Georgia’s “national interests” and bring more harm to the Georgian populace than to Moscow.

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili argued in the early days of Russia’s bloody invasion of Ukraine that sanctions were not an effective measure and that there was “no one to stop the bombing of Kyiv.”

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