Roger Wicker: “I rise tonight to make a simple but important point on behalf of the brave, freedom-loving citizens of the Republic of…”

“I rise tonight to make a simple but important point on behalf of the brave, freedom-loving citizens of the Republic of Georgia. It is time for the United States to stand alongside the brave nation of Georgia, the citizens of which went to the polls recently and voted to elect their own leadership. It is time to impose heavy sanctions on the individuals and institutions now trying to thwart the democratic will of the people of the Republic of Georgia. Now is the time to act. This is the 20th of December 2024. We don't need to act in mid-January. We need to act now while the people of Georgia are taking to the freezing streets in towns like Tbilisi and elsewhere to exercise their right to protest. Now, here is what has happened--and it is such a familiar story, Mr. President. The Georgian people recently went to the polls, as really is the right of all mankind according to our Declaration of Independence. And the Georgian people rejected the Georgian Dream Party, which is really more and more becoming an arm of Vladimir Putin's Russian dictatorship. The Georgian people, when they voted, rejected Bidzina Ivanishvili, the pro-Russian oligarch behind the party. This is similar to what other free voters have done in other countries around in that area--a decade or so ago in the Republic of Ukraine, in the recent Romanian elections. It is happening also in Moldova.…”