“The MEGOBARI Act is a strict warning for Ivanishvili. He will either cede power or receive the most severe sanctions from the Donald Trump administration. Members of his entourage, propagandists, and corrupt businesspersons, the so-called financial elite on which his Russian criminal regime is based, will also be subject to financial sanctions. The Act’s adoption once again confirmed that no restart of relations with the U.S. is feasible under Ivanishvili’s regime conditions,” said Tina Bokuchava, Chair of the United National Movement (UNM) party.

According to Tina Bokuchava, there is bipartisan support in the U.S. toward the Georgian people’s Euro-Atlantic integration aspirations, and this will define the U.S. policy on Georgia.

The UNM Chair noted that the party delegation would visit the United States next week to work with the Senate to ensure support for the MEGOBARI Act in the upper house of the U.S. Congress.

“Our expectations of the lower house were justified; we believed that the MEGOCARI Act would gain overwhelming support, and this happened. I would like to remind society of Ivanishvili’s pre-election promise. It was peace. But after the elections, the special operation, which he conducted, you see that the U.S. declared war on Ivanishvili. Ivanishvili promised the Georgian people European peace but waged a violent war against the Georgian people and confronted the youth with repression.

It is high time for Ivanishvili to acknowledge that the MEGOBARI Act is a warning that his term has expired and that the only way to rescue himself and the country is to cede power and hold new elections. Yesterday provided definitive confirmation that Ivanishvili’s claims were false, and a restart of relations with the U.S. remains unfeasible under the current conditions of his regime. The only outcome is new, free, fair elections and the release of political prisoners, and we will achieve that with joint efforts,” she concluded.

The U.S. House of Representatives has reviewed and passed the Mobilizing and Enhancing Georgia’s Options for Building Accountability, Resilience, and Independence Act or MEGOBARI Act, supported by 349 congressmen – 168 Republicans and 181 Democrats. Another 42 congressmen voted against it, and 42 abstained.