Kara McDonald, Deputy Assistant Secretary, on Monday said, “I cannot express enough our concern about what we see happening with civil society, with ISFED, with independent media here in Georgia.”

“I am so appreciative for your presence here. Because we are great friends of Georgia, we care very much, but we cannot want it more than you do. We stand by ready to support,” McDonald told media outlets at the Tbilisi Conference.

Alluding to the war in Ukraine, Kara McDonald continued: “Putin made two wrong assumptions, he didn’t expect the bravery of the Ukrainian people to push back, and he didn’t expect unity not just from the west but the globe.”

Deputy Assistant Secretary believes “that’s the strategy for victory right there: never forget the power of people to fight for their own human dignity and freedom.

A two-day international conference named Glory to Ukraine has kicked off in Georgia’s capital Tbilisi, gathering former US diplomats, regional experts, civic activists, and business representatives.

Kara McDonald said, “what we look for and what we try to support internationally in our foreign policy is the ability to be self-refining and to be self-reflecting and be open to that and increase transparency.”

What we look for and what we try to support internationally in our foreign policy is the ability to be self-refining and to be self-reflecting and be open to that and increase transparency. – DAS McDonald at #TbilisiConference

— U.S. Embassy Tbilisi (@usingeo) September 5, 2022