The current Georgian Government said that candidate status was a key commitment that it was going to make. Such a statement made the US Senator Jeanne Shaheen.

“The reality is that there has been tremendous backsliding in Georgia. We provide considerable support to Georgia to support a reform agenda. I argue that maybe we should tie some of that aid to behavior on the part of Georgia.

I was persuaded by State Department officials and House members in the last round of budget negotiations that maybe that was not a good thing to do, but I think maybe we need to think about whether it’s time to rethink our strategy on Georgia.

Georgian Government said that candidate status was a key commitment that it was going to make. It said that to the public. Georgia said that to the US and the European community, and they clearly have reneged on that commitment. And I think it’s 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 may be the kind of assistance that we’re willing to provide. I totally agree that the Georgian people are not the ones at fault here. It’s their Government, but at some point, they need to demand from their Government more accountability”, - said the Senator.