Amid Violence in Georgia, Senators Shaheen, Cardin, Risch, Coons, Graham and Durbin Speak with Georgian President Zourabichvili, a Leading Critic of the Georgian Dream Government, to Discuss Decision to End EU Membership Bid

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a senior member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC), Ben Cardin (D-MD), Chair of SFRC, Jim Risch (R-ID), Ranking Member of SFRC, Chris Coons (D-DE), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) released the following joint statement after speaking with the popularly-elected Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, a leading critic of the government led by Prime Minister Irakli Khobakidze of the Georgian Dream Party, about the increasingly troubling political situation in Georgia following the government’s decision to suspend European Union accession agenda:

“We spoke with Georgian President Zourabichvili to convey our bipartisan support for her leadership and express our serious concern over the violent and brutal response to peaceful protests following the Georgian government’s decision to suspend the country’s European Union accession negotiations.

“For days, the people of Georgia have exercised their right to peaceful protest following the unconstitutional decision to disregard the aspirations of the vast majority of Georgians who want a future in the European Union. There is strong, bipartisan and bicameral support for the people of Georgia. This should serve as a reminder to Georgian Dream that U.S. policy will remain unchanged in the coming months.

“We welcome the Biden Administration’s recent announcement of its intent to apply targeted sanctions on those responsible for undermining Georgia’s institutions and violence against its people and we hope steps are taken to expedite this process. The coming days will be critical for Georgia’s future and the United States must continue its 32-year tradition of supporting its fragile but hard-fought democracy.”

Shaheen and U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-ID), Ranking Member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee, issued a statement Sunday expressing concern about the violence unfolding in the aftermath of the Georgian government’s decision to suspend EU accession negotiations and called on the State Department to impose sanctions on individuals responsible for undermining Georgia  and committing violence against peaceful protestors.

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