From 29 May to 5 June 2026, Medina Art Gallery in Rome, Italy, hosted the solo photography exhibition “Stone Guardians of Azerbaijan” by renowned Azerbaijani photographer Aydin Mehdiyev, organized by Palazzo Mandrilli Gallery, AzerNEWS reports.
Day: June 5, 2026
The U.S. House Committee on Armed Services approved two Georgia-related amendments for inclusion in the draft U.S. National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the annual “must-pass” bill, that would require reports on individuals described as “political prisoners” in Georgia, as well as on Russian and Chinese intelligence activities in the country.
The amendments to NDAA, a bill that authorizes the U.S. Department of Defense budget and sets national security policy, were introduced by Republican House Representative Joe Wilson, a vocal Georgian Dream critic, in what appears to be an attempt to push for Georgia-related actions amid a lack of progress on the MEGOBARI Act, a bill foreseeing sanctions on Georgian officials.
One amendment expresses the committee’s concern over the “continued detention and imprisonment of opposition leaders, activists, and other individuals widely regarded as political prisoners in Georgia and believes this issue should be raised consistently and at appropriately senior levels in bilateral engagements with the Government of Georgia and the Armed Forces of Georgia.” It directs the U.S. Secretary of Defense to submit “an unclassified report” to the House Commitee on Armed Services no later than October 1, 2026, detailing “the Department of Defense’s strategy for incorporating the issue of political prisoners into military-to-military engagements with Georgia.”
A second amendment requires the Secretary of Defense, in coordination with the Director of National Intelligence and the Secretary of State, to submit a classified report within 180 days of the law’s enactment examining “the penetration of Russian and Chinese intelligence elements and their assets in Georgia” and assessing “the potential intersection of Russian and Chinese influence and cooperation in Georgia.”
- 26/02/2026 – Bill to Report on Russian, Chinese Intelligence Assets in Georgia Tabled in U.S. Congress
The same provision also directs the Secretary of State to prepare a five-year U.S. strategy for bilateral relations with Georgia. The strategy would outline “specific objectives for enhancing bilateral ties which reflect the current domestic political environment in Georgia,” determine “the extent to which the United States should continue to invest” in Georgia, assesss whether the country “should remain a top recipient of United States funding in the Europe and Eurasia region,” and whether the “Government of Georgia remains committed to expanding trade ties with the United States and Europe.”
Commenting on the amendments, international relations expert and Dean of the School of Governance at Caucasus University, Eka Akobia, argued that the Senate’s failure to advance the MEGOBARI Act may have encouraged lawmakers to pursue alternative legislative avenues.
“Despite the fact that Georgian Dream considered the blocking of the standalone bill (MEGOBARI Act) in the Senate a success, this move and obstruction triggered a backlash and paved the way for the initiation of more dangerous mechanisms in the U.S. legislature under Wilson’s leadership,” Akobia wrote on Facebook.
She cautioned, however, that the NDAA still faces a lengthy legislative process, noting that, “however, the risks are lower, as the demands are more narrowly scoped and do not call for immediate action, but rather only require information gathering and a public report.”
Having passed the U.S. House of Representatives in May 2025, the bipartisan MEGOBARI Act has stalled in the Senate amid reported opposition by some Senators. While there were initial hopes that the legislation could be attached to the NDAA in 2025, the effort was ultimately stripped out during final negotiations. NDAA is considered “must-pass” legislation and has been successfully enacted every year for over six decades. This near-certainty of passage makes NDAA a powerful instrument for lawmakers to push desired acts by attaching the provisions to it.
The move comes amid continued uncertainty, but also intensifying contacts, in Tbilisi–Washington relations as Georgian Dream officials continue to state their willingness for a “reset.” Responding to Rep. Wilson’s remarks on June 3, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed hope to “perhaps change the trajectory not just of [U.S.] relationship with Georgia, but of their behavior,” noting the U.S. is “seeing some positive responses” from Tbilisi in the process.
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