Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are a part of the sovereign state of Georgia and condemning the decision by the Syrian Arab Republic to recognize these territories as independent of Georgia.

IV 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. RES. 93 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are a part of the sovereign state of Georgia and condemning the decision by the Syrian Arab Republic to recognize these territories as independent of Georgia. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 30, 2019 Mr. ROONEY of Florida (for himself, Mr. CONNOLLY, and Mr. FITZPATRICK) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are a part of the sovereign state of Georgia and condemning the decision by the Syrian Arab Republic to recognize these territories as independent of Georgia. Whereas the United States established diplomatic relations with Georgia in 1992 and codified those relations in the 2009 United States-Georgia Charter on Strategic Part- nership; Whereas Georgia has been a committed partner of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and has contrib- uted significant troops and resources to the NATO mis- VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jan 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR93.IH HR93 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HRES 93 IH sions in Afghanistan and the Multi-National Force in Iraq; Whereas Georgia maintains peaceful relations with its neigh- bors in the Caucasus region and has been a reliable part- ner in promoting peace and democracy in the Eurasia re- gion; Whereas the United States and its partners must stand up against the Russian Federation’s expansion into terri- tories of the former Soviet Union; Whereas the Russian Federation violates international law by continuously occupying sovereign territory in Georgia and has on multiple occasions meddled in the affairs of Geor- gia during the war in Abkhazia from 1992–1993 and during the Russo-Georgian war in August 2008; Whereas only 5 member states of the United Nations recog- nize Abkhazia or South Ossetia as independent of Geor- gia; Whereas the Syrian Arab Republic is a failed client-state of the Russian Federation and the Islamic Republic of Iran; and Whereas the Russian Federation, in its effort to disrupt the West and its allies, will use failed states such as the Syr- ian Arab Republic to push its geopolitical agenda and lend credibility to the territories it illegally occupies: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 1 (1) recognizes Georgia’s sovereignty and terri- 2 torial integrity, and reaffirms that the regions of 3 Abkhazia and South Ossetia, currently occupied by 4 VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jan 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\HR93.IH HR93 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HRES 93 IH the Russian Federation, are territories of Georgia; 1 and 2 (2) condemns the decision by the Syrian Arab 3 Republic, which is a client state of the Russian Fed- 4 eration, to recognize the independence of the regions 5 of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. 6 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 Jan 30, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\HR93.IH HR93 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS