WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, put out the following statement on the release of Georgian opposition leader Nika Melia from prison:
“I am encouraged to see that Nika Melia, leader of Georgia’s United National Movement Party, has been released from prison. His release fulfills of one of the key promises made in the April 2021 agreement that was designed to bring an end to the country’s 18-month-long political impasse.
“Now that Mr. Melia has been released, I expect to see those political parties that have not yet signed on to last month’s agreement make good on their promises, sign the agreement, take their seats in Georgia’s Parliament, and work alongside the other signatories to close this messy chapter in Georgia’s political history.”