Senator Sheehy: America stands with any country that wants to fight for its own freedom

“America stands with any country that wants to fight for its own freedom. We will fight beside you for that freedom,” US Senator Tim Sheehy stated at an event organized by the Georgian Embassy in the United States, marking Georgia’s Independence Day.

“So, when I was a 19-year-old sailor in the US Navy, I was on a ship crossing the Black Sea, and they said we were pulling into Georgia. I was pretty sure the state of Georgia was a long way away at the time, so I said, “What’s Georgia? Where are we?” It turns out we were in the Port of Poti on the Black Sea. As a young 19-year-old, I had an introduction to your great country, which I still remember to this day. We had about a week there of joint exercises with your military. Of course, that preceded the expansionist aims of the Putin regime soon thereafter, and underscored how important it was for us to be there in retrospect. It furthermore deepened my commitment to not just our alliances worldwide, but also to the independence of Georgia — a country I visited as a young man. Although I haven’t been back since, maybe I’ll fix that soon and come pay you a visit. It’s a beautiful place, and the history there is, of course, ancient — right at the juncture of some of our most ancient civilisations, between Persia and the Russian steppes, with the history of the Caucasus Mountains and everything that happened there.

I quickly delved into and learned everything I could, during my years at the Naval Academy about Georgia, the Black Sea, and how important that region was — truly the cradle of civilisation. And of course, your independence: we have stood beside you and will continue to stand beside you to defend not only your territorial integrity, but your cultural integrity as well. America stands with any country that wants to fight for its own freedom. We will fight beside you for that freedom. So, thank you for having me tonight, and congratulations. Thank you so much,”