The U.S. Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing on Wednesday to weigh up U.S. policy in the Caucasus, with Senators grilling the Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, Karen Donfried, about Georgia’s democratic backsliding, among other issues.

Asking about the U.S. strategy in regards to Georgia advancing democratic institutions, Senator Ben Cardin mentioned “incredible backsliding” on democratic advancements, failure for judicial reform, and criticism against U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan.

Cardin said: “Georgia is a strategic partner for the U.S., I recognize that. We have seen incredible backsliding on democratic advancements so much so that the EU differentiated between Ukraine and Moldova when it came to Georgia, which was a clear indication that the EU sees the backsliding. We saw the criticism of our ambassador, and we have seen the failure of judicial reform; so, what is our strategy in regards to Georgia advancing democratic institutions and how do we plan to make progress?”

Donfried shared Cardin’s remark on democratic backsliding, saying that “what strikes me about Georgia is that 85% of Georgians support these Euro-Atlantic aspirations.” She expressed hope that “there will be progress but absolutely we are concerned about the lack of progress today.”

Donfried went on: “What we have seen recently has been deeply concerning to us because we have seen democratic backsliding in Georgia and what strikes me about Georgia is that 85% of Georgians support these Euro-Atlantic aspirations and I think that puts pressure on the government and what we have been doing is saying to the Georgian government we have joined hands with the EU, the list of reforms they are saying you need to make to get candidate status we are all in on helping you make those reforms, so we are still hopeful that there will be progress but absolutely we are concerned about the lack of progress today.”

As to “outrageous” criticism against U.S. Ambassador to Georgia, Donfried noted that Kelly Degnan is a “fantastic representative of the U.S. in Georgia and I will back her up any day of the week.” She underscored that “that criticism will undermine the partnership we have had over time.”

She continued: “We have talked to the Georgian government about this, we have spoken to the Prime Minister about this and while these are groups that are not part of the government, some of the groups who have been highly and wrongly critical of her, have close ties to the government and we have made clear that that criticism will undermine the partnership we have had over time.”

Donfried also stressed that “it’s important to remind all of us that Russia continues to occupy 20% of Georgia’s territory and seeks to negatively impact Georgia’s independence, its ties with the U.S., and its democracy. So I do believe, as you just said, that our continued engagement and support are critical for Georgia’s future and for the South Caucasus.”

Senator Jeanne Shaheen’s question has also mentioned “tremendous backsliding” in Georgia, suggesting to “rethink” the U.S. strategy on Georgia.

According to Shaheen, the Georgian government said that the EU candidate status was a key commitment, but clearly “reneged” on that commitment. “The Georgian people are not the ones at fault here, it is their government, but at some point, they need to demand from their government more accountability. ”

Shaheen said: “I appreciate that Georgia is trying to play a positive role in Nagorno-Karabakh but the reality, as you point out, is that there has been a tremendous backsliding in Georgia and we provide considerable support to Georgia to support a reform agenda. I, for one, argue that maybe we should tie some of that aid to behaviour on the part of Georgia and I was persuaded by State Department officials and House members in the last round of the budget negotiations that maybe that was not a good thing to do, but I think maybe we need to think about whether its time to rethink our strategy on Georgia. The current Georgian government said that the candidate status was a key commitment that it was going to make; it said that to the public, Georgia, the U.S. and the European community and they clearly have reneged on that commitment and I think it is important for us to think about the options that we have to try and hold them accountable for that, to let them know that there are consequences and some of those consequences maybe be the kind of assistance that we are willing to provide.”

The ruling team and opposition members in Georgia today echoed the Senators’ statements with mixed stances, mostly focusing on Shaheen’s remark that “some of those consequences maybe be the kind of assistance that we are willing to provide.”

Below are their remarks in quotes:

The ruling Georgian Dream party Chair Irakli Kobakhidze: “The majority of the funding goes to non-governmental organisations, and it is of little interest to us from a practical point of view. Unfair criticism has no price for us; only such criticism that has a concrete basis can have a price.”

Lelo opposition party member Salome Samadashvili: “By attacking the Senators, the Georgian Dream attacks not the American Senators, but the freedom of the state and country. We all recognise that in the most challenging geopolitical environment we currently live in, U.S. support is fundamentally and decisively important for defending our state interests.”

People’s Power opposition party leader Dimitri Khundadze: “Senator Jeanne Shaheen said: “maybe we need to think about whether it’s time to rethink our strategy on Georgia.” I’d like to say that the time has indeed come. Our movement also suggests that we need to alter not only our strategic choice about the U.S. but also the nature of our partnership. It is time to change the incorrect relationship that exists with the United States today, and this should take the form of a respectful, equal, and bilateral collaboration.”

People’s Power opposition party leader Sozar Subari: “No funding is worth getting Georgia involved in the war. It would be better if they cut the funding of those harmful projects, aiming to stir up revolutions in Georgia. Unfortunately, only a small part of the American budget is devoted to strengthening the defence capability, rather than funding the NGOs thinking about the revolutionary scenario.”