Republican Senator and Minority Leader in the United States Senate, Mitch McConnell, responded to the current events in Georgia and expressed his solidarity with the Georgian people. During his speech in the Senate, McConnell referred to the Georgian Dream party as favorable to Moscow and called on the Georgian government to withdraw the Russian Law on so-called Foreign Agents.
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Senator McConnell's statement:
“In Georgia, a parliamentary majority quest for power is threatening to suffocate the nation's civil society and unravel the guardrails of its democracy.
In an attempt to consolidate its hold on government, the Georgia, Georgian Dream Party would stamp out the Euro-Atlantic aspirations of the Georgian people.
And while the political opposition is large, it is chronically divided against itself.
Despite their feckless party leaders, thousands of Georgians have taken to the streets to protest. Their desire for self-determination and freedom from Russian coercion is obvious. Four in five Georgians tell pollsters they want a distinctly European future.
They believe that planning themselves firmly in the West, among democratic nations where the rule of law prevails, is in their best interest.
Whether Georgia looks east or west matters to the United States. Standing with free people, resisting the aggression of tyrants like Putin or Xi, is in our own interest. This is true of Taiwan and Ukraine, Estonia and Japan. And it's true of Georgia. The Georgian people deserve to write their own future, and not have it dictated to them by Moscow's preferred party chiefs. And why is that Russian, why is it that Russians obsess over controlling Georgia's future? Well, it's about more than acting out Putin's neo-imperialist fantasy.
Geography matters. For millennia, Georgia and its Black Sea coasts have stood at the crossroads of the civilized world.
It's a key transit point for critical resources, and today, along with Armenia, it sits as a tantalizing link in the land bridge between authoritarian partners in Moscow and Tehran. The people of Georgia have a long history of enduring conflict and conquest. They have a long tradition of resilience and a rich culture to be proud of. And they know there is a difference between bending to Russia and turning to the West. So, like friends of the Georgian people across the West, I'm hopeful this moment will be one which can take yet more pride.
There's a moment when the opposition to Russian coercion puts petty differences aside and stands united.
Of course, this must also be a moment for Georgia's ruling party to recognize the cost of ignoring their people's will in order to fulfill food and swims, and to stop short of shredding their relationship with the West. I hope those in power in Tbilisi will put sovereignty over subjugation and withdraw. I hope those in power in Tbilisi will put sovereignty over subjugation and withdraw the coercive Russia law from Parliament.”
