House Foreign Affairs Committee and Georgia Caucus call for the de-escalation of the political situation in Georgia.

Representatives Gregory W. Meeks, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Michael McCaul, Ranking Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Gerry Connolly and Adam Kinzinger, Co-Chairmen of the House of Representatives Georgia Caucus, said: “Years of hard work by the Georgian people to build a stronger and more prosperous democracy are being gravely threatened by excessive force and undemocratic actions.”

“As friends of Georgia who have long supported Georgia’s commitment to democracy, the events in Tbilisi that unfolded last night were disheartening to witness. In the interest of resolving political discord peacefully, we encourage the leaders of the Georgian Dream to de-escalate the situation and work with the United National Movement and other opposition parties to bring Georgia’s push for a healthy democratic future back on track. We fear that failure to work with minority parties will impede the progress made by Georgia to foster stronger relations with the European Union and NATO,” the official statement reads.

The riot police detained the opposition United National Movement (UNM) party leader Nika Melia at the party’s headquarters on Tuesday morning.

”We encourage the leaders of Georgian Dream to de-escalate the situation… to bring Georgia’s push for a healthy democratic future back on track.”

The House Foreign Affairs Committee and Georgia Caucus respond to developments in the Republic of Georgia.https://t.co/JulwkuRAJz

— House Foreign Affairs Committee (@HouseForeign) February 24, 2021