The Conference by The McCain Institute at Arizona State University (ASU), the George W. Bush Institute and the Economic Policy Research Center (EPRC) took off today in Tbilisi, Georgia. This year’s two-day international conference “Slava Ukraini” will focus on Ukraine.

Experts, leaders and policymakers from the United States and Europe will hold high-level discussions about Ukraine and Georgia, the future of NATO and the EU, and democracy in general, given ongoing Russian military aggression and disinformation.

The conference occurs as Russian forces still occupy over 20% of Georgian land and the Kremlin persists in nuclear and conventional saber-rattling and meddling in the internal affairs of Eastern European counties, including Georgia.

“Georgians know what it is like to live with a belligerent autocrat like Vladimir Putin as a next door neighbor, and they know what it is like to have his army invade your sovereign country,” said McCain Institute Executive Director Dr. Evelyn Farkas: “There is no better place than Tbilisi, Georgia to discuss the future of Ukraine, the transatlantic relationship and how to shore up our efforts to defend democracy and defeat Putin’s aggressive and illegal foreign policy.”

“I’ve been involved with this conference since it was started in 2014 by Nino Evgenidze and EPRC with the McCain Institute,” said David J. Kramer, the Bradford M. Freeman Managing Director of Global Policy at the Bush Institute: “I’m thrilled this year that the George W. Bush Institute is a partner, which reflects our great interest in Georgia and the region. Indeed, this conference underscores the enduring friendship between the people of Georgia and the people of the United States during these very challenging times.”

“We dedicated our 6th annual reunion to Ukraine. We want to honor the Ukrainian people who are defending not only their independence and sovereignty, but also the vision of a Europe ‘whole, free and at peace.’ Whatever it takes and as long as it takes, we stand for Ukraine, we stand for freedom,” said EPRC Executive Director Nino Evgenidze.

Key participants in the 2022 Tbilisi Conference, aside from Farkas, Kramer and Evgenidze, include former U.S. Ambassadors to Ukraine Bill Taylor and John Herbst, former Lithuanian foreign minister Linas Linkevicius, U.S. Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Kara McDonald, Ret. Gen. Ben Hodges with Human Rights First, several Members of the European Parliament, and more.

This is the sixth convening of the Tbilisi Conference since 2014.