U.S. Congress unanimously approved bipartisan draft bill supporting Georgia

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed the act supporting Georgia that moves the Georgia-US partnership to the new stage, - Georgian Foreign Minister Davit Zalkaliani said at the press conference on Monday.

The Minister focused on the issues included in the bipartisan draft.

“The bipartisan bill provides very important messages. First of all, it condemns the occupation and factual annexation of the Georgian territories, Abkhazia and Tskhinvali region, by the Russia federation. It is very important that the document also condemns the violations of human rights in the occupied territories and it emphasized the Parliament’s resolution on so-called “Otkhozoria-Tatunashvili” list.

The bill provides certain sanctions - namely, through ban on entering U.S. or seizure of financial assets, on those persons who is responsible for human rights violations in Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions. The Congress also instructs the US Executive Authority to submit a detailed report on the persons accused in the above-mentioned crimes within 60 days from adopting the law, " FM Davit Zalkaliani said.

According to the minister, the US Congress supports Georgia's European and Euro-Atlantic integration. In addition, the Congress calls on the US Secretary of State to present a five-year report on the support towards Georgia's defense and security.

FM Davit Zalkaliani emphasized another issue in the draft law, which deals with negotiations on free trade agreement between Georgia and the US.

“I would like to emphasize one important issue - the bill calls a US trade representative to take effective steps to start negotiations with regard to the Free Trade Agreement with Georgia. This is a very important element in this bill. It’s the first time in the history of Georgian-US relations when the Congress approved a separate document, " FM Zalkaliani said.