2008 Press Releases
Congressman Chris Smith Advocates for a Humanitarian Corridor
On August 21st, Congressman Chris Smith (D-New Jersey) and U.S. Ambassador John Tefft held a press conference dedicated to the two U.S. citizen girls, three and seven years old, who were trapped behind Russian lines while visiting their Georgian grandparents in Western Georgia. When the conflict between Georgia and Russia escalated on August 8th, their father was unable to get the girls out. Congressman Smith arrived in Tbilisi on August 19 to petition for a humanitarian corridor so that these girls, and others, could come to Tbilisi. In the end, the French Ambassador to Georgia, Eric Fournier, who was traveling in Western Georgia to monitor Russian compliance with the French-negotiated cease-fire agreement, brought the girls with him back to Tbilisi. At the press conference, the girls’ father expressed his joy at having his daughters back and thanked Congressman Smith and the U.S. and French Embassies for the roles they played.