U.S. Senators, Jeanne Shaheen and Richard Durbin, on Monday, held a press point as part of their visit to Georgia.

The American delegation met with the Georgian top-officials and civil society “and what we did in all of those meetings was to reaffirm our steadfast support for Georgia, for the country’s sovereignty and for its territorial integrity.”

“In just a couple of days, we will recognize the first anniversary of Russia’s further invasion of Ukraine. We think at this difficult time, it’s particularly important to be in Georgia, because we know that you have memories of Russia’s invasion in Georgia in 2008,” Shaheen underscored.

She went on to say that “the U.S. has worked side by side with Georgia for 30 years to support the people of Georgia’s aspirations for living in a democracy, for economic prosperity, and for its aspirations to join the EU and NATO, and we reaffirmed our support for that.”

“And I urged the Georgian government to take all of the necessary steps to continue to support democratic accountability and transparency, and to support the wishes of the people of this country towards EU and the West integration with the Euro-Atlantic traditions,” she stated.

In his remarks, Richard Durbin said: “We want to acknowledge the people of Georgia for the help that they have given to the cause in Ukraine in two levels. First, the industrial generators, which were sent at the request of the Ukrainian government, and secondly, accepting refugees from Ukraine.”

“Putin’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine and the remarkable courageous stand by the Ukrainian people to defend their sovereignty in their homeland have really forced a decision on many parts of the world, particularly in Europe as to the future. We are glad that Georgia has joined those nations that are looking to Europe for the future. Their application for the European Union, we hope, will ultimately lead to an agreement and make them part of that effort in the years to come. And we also believe that they are pledged to be part of the friendship with the United States and its values is an indication of the kind of democracy which we are promoting,” Durbin noted.