III 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 176 

Urging all parties in Georgia to seek prompt implementation of the agreement 

signed on April 19, 2021, and reaffirming the support of the Senate 

for Georgia, the territorial integrity of Georgia, and the aspirations 

of Georgians to join the Euro-Atlantic community. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 22, 2021 

Mr. JOHNSON (for himself, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. RISCH) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Urging all parties in Georgia to seek prompt implementation 

of the agreement signed on April 19, 2021, and reaffirming the support of the Senate for Georgia, the territorial 

integrity of Georgia, and the aspirations of Georgians 

to join the Euro-Atlantic community. 

Whereas, on April 9, 1991, Georgia declared independence 

from the Soviet Union, and on March 24, 1992, the 

United States and Georgia established formal diplomatic 

relations; 

Whereas, since 1993, the territorial integrity of Georgia has 

been reaffirmed by the international community and numerous United Nations Security Council resolutions; 


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•SRES 176 IS 

Whereas, at the 2008 Summit in Bucharest, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) recognized the aspirations of Georgia to join NATO and agreed that Georgia 

would become a member of the Alliance; 

Whereas, on January 9, 2009, the United States and Georgia 

signed the United States-Georgia Charter on Strategic 

Partnership, affirming the close relationship between the 

United States and Georgia based on the shared principles 

of democracy, free markets, defense and security cooperation, and cultural exchanges; 

Whereas Georgia has made significant contributions to the 

wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and remains the largest 

troop contributor among NATO partners to the NATOled Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan; 

Whereas the United States supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia within its internationally recognized borders and condemns the continued occupation 

by the Russian Federation of the Georgian regions of 

South Ossetia and Abkhazia; 

Whereas, in March 2020, the United States and several embassies of European countries in Georgia brokered an 

agreement among the major political parties in Georgia, 

which included changes to the electoral system and called 

on all sides to address the appearance of political interference in the judicial system; 

Whereas, on June 29, 2020, the Parliament of Georgia 

adopted constitutional amendments, establishing a more 

proportional electoral system and promoting greater political pluralism in future parliaments; 

Whereas the United States Embassy in Tbilisi applauded 

Georgia’s electoral reforms and urged the Parliament of 


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•SRES 176 IS 

Georgia to pass additional legislation that fully incorporates all of the recommendations of the Office for 

Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE/ 

ODIHR) and urged Georgian authorities to effectively 

implement such legislation; 

Whereas, on October 31, 2020, Georgia held its first parliamentary elections since adopting the electoral reforms 

in June 2020; 

Whereas the OSCE/ODIHR limited election observation team 

detailed a number of flaws and partially or completely 

unimplemented OSCE/ODIHR recommendations, but 

also concluded that the first round of the October 2020 

parliamentary elections in Georgia was ‘‘competitive and, 

overall, fundamental freedoms were respected’’; 

Whereas the United States Embassy in Tbilisi shared the 

OSCE/ODIHR’s assessment of the first round of elections and stressed the importance of fully addressing the 

deficiencies noted by the OSCE/ODIHR Limited Election 

Observation Mission Preliminary Report before the second round of elections in November 2020; 

Whereas the Georgian opposition refused to recognize the legitimacy of the October 2020 elections, boycotted the second round of elections, called for public voter intimidation of anyone voting in the second round of elections, 

and declined to take their seats in parliament; 

Whereas, on February 23, 2021, Georgian authorities entered 

the headquarters of United National Movement (UNM) 

and arrested its leader Nikanor Melia on a bail violation; 

Whereas, on March 23, 2021, the Subcommittee on Europe 

and Regional Security Cooperation of the Committee on 


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•SRES 176 IS 

Foreign Relations of the Senate held a hearing on Georgia to examine the political situation and to highlight the 

actions that the Government of Georgia and the opposition could take in order to resolve the impasse and move 

the country forward; 

Whereas, in that hearing, Deputy Assistant Secretary of 

State George Kent testified that the Russian Federation 

uses its illegal occupation of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, 

‘‘economic leverage, cyber attacks, and disinformation to 

try to force Georgia to abandon its Euro-Atlantic aspirations and to sow division and distrust’’; 

Whereas, at the same hearing, Deputy Assistant Secretary 

Kent testified, ‘‘Georgia has real work to do in strengthening its democracy . . . Georgia’s commitment to democracy and the rule of law is a fundamental element of 

our strategic relationship, as well as the precondition for 

the country’s further progress.’’; and 

Whereas international mediation efforts to resolve the political impasse in Georgia led to an agreement signed on 

April 19, 2021, by representatives of several political parties and individual Members of Parliament: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) calls on Georgian Dream, United National 

3 Movement, and the other parties elected to the Par4 liament of Georgia to fully implement the com5 promise proposed by European Council President 

6 Michel on April 18, 2021, and signed on April 19, 

7 2021; 


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•SRES 176 IS 

1 (2) calls on all elected Members of Parliament 

2 to take their seats in parliament and begin work 

3 without further delay on the challenges facing Geor4 gia, including consequences of the COVID–19 pan5 demic, a weakened economy, and challenging re6 gional dynamics; 

7 (3) calls on the Government of Georgia to insti8 tute systemic reforms, developed through an inclu9 sive and transparent consultation process with stake10 holders, to ensure that the judicial system is impar11 tial and independent and not used for political or 

12 partisan ends, including by fully adopting and imple13 menting the recommendations of the European Com14 mission for Democracy through Law (commonly 

15 known as the ‘‘Venice Commission’’) and other ex16 perts; 

17 (4) calls on the Government of Georgia to insti18 tute inclusively and transparently developed systemic 

19 electoral reforms to address the underlying causes of 

20 the political impasse and avoid a recurrence of such 

21 a crisis, including by fully adopting and imple22 menting the recommendations of the Office for 

23 Democratic Institutions and Human Rights of the 

24 Organization for Security and Co-operation in Eu25 rope (OSCE/ODIHR); 


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1 (5) recognizes that the political situation in 

2 Georgia has been exacerbated by the efforts of the 

3 Russian Federation to sow chaos throughout Geor4 gia, including the illegally occupied territories of 

5 Abkhazia and South Ossetia; 

6 (6) expresses concern that impediments to 

7 strengthening Georgia’s democratic institutions and 

8 processes will slow its progress toward achieving its 

9 aspiration of Euro-Atlantic integration and strength10 ening its economy and could result in conditions 

11 placed on United States assistance to Georgia; and 

12 (7) emphasizes that the United States supports 

13 a more robust democracy in Georgia, with governing 

14 institutions that demonstrate integrity, checks and 

15 balances, transparency, the capacity to counter Rus16 sian and other malign influence, and the ability to 

17 achieve the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the people 

18 of Georgia. 

Æ 


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