Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov congratulated Vladimir Putin on his birthday and stated that the Russian president's name holds "special significance" for the Chechen people. According to Kadyrov, the region will "never forget" the support Putin extended to his father—Chechnya’s first president, Akhmat-Khadzhi Kadyrov—"at a time when the future of the Chechen Republic depended on the decisions being made."
Members of the US Senate and House of Representatives called on the US government to cooperate with its European partners to impose sanctions against the Georgian government. This statement followed the release of a critical OSCE report prepared under the Moscow Mechanism.
The joint statement by US lawmakers representing both major parties calls for the Georgian government to implement recommendations, including the release of political prisoners, the dropping of charges against opposition politicians, and the repeal of laws deemed undemocratic.
The OSCE report, based on a request from 23 countries, sharply criticizes the Georgian government and calls on the international community to take action, as well as on the government itself to repeal repressive laws and release those detained for political reasons. Among the recommendations in the document is the possibility of referring the case against Georgia to the International Criminal Court, as well as to the Strasbourg International Court of Justice regarding the situation in the country.