Senate hawks 'disappointed' by remarks from election winner in Georgia

A trio of Senate hawks that's long supported Georgia's pro-Western leader said Wednesday they were “disappointed” by calls from Monday's election winner for President Mikheil Saakashvili step down before his term ends next year.

Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) are longtime supporters of Saakashvili, who led his country into a disastrous war with Russia in 2008. Saakashvili's party was defeated in parliamentary elections on Monday, and the leader of the opposition Georgian Dream coalition, billionaire Bidzina Ivanishvili, is expected to be named prime minister.

In a joint statement Wednesday, the senators called Saakashvili a “democratic statesman” and “Georgian patriot,” papering over criticism that he had grown increasingly authoritarian and hounded the opposition. The senators congratulated Ivanishvili, who is seen as pro-Russian, but warned him to be “magnanimous in victory” and “not use the instruments of the state for political retribution.”

“In this respect, we are disappointed and troubled by divisive remarks attributed to Mr. Ivanishvili calling on President Saakashvili to resign, by unspecified threats of prosecutions, and by reported acts of unrest and intimidation by Georgian Dream supporters,” they wrote. “As always, the future of the U.S.-Georgia relationship depends on the continued development and deepening of Georgia's democratic culture and institutions.”

Ivanishvili on Wednesday backpedaled on his call for Saakashvili to resign, saying he was not issuing an ultimatum.

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