Congressman Wilson urges Syria to reverse recognition of Georgia's occupied territories

US Congressman Joe Wilson, co-chair of the Helsinki Commission and co-author of the Georgia Support Act (MEGOBARI Act), has called on Syria to reverse its recognition of Georgia’s Russian-occupied regions, South Ossetia and Abkhazia.

In a post published on May 17 on platform X, Wilson revealed that during a meeting in February 2025, he urged Syrian Foreign Minister Faysal Mekdad (referred to in some reports as FM Shibani) to rescind the Assad regime's decision to recognize the territories as independent states.

“I was grateful to ask FM Shibani in February to reverse the Assad regime’s wrongful decision and have Syria recognize South Ossetia and Abkhazia as the sovereign territory of the country of Georgia,” Wilson wrote. “This simple step would show deep strength and commitment to Syria’s new path.”

Syria officially recognized the Russian-occupied regions in 2018, joining a small group of states that have endorsed Moscow’s claims. Georgia, along with the vast majority of the international community, considers Abkhazia and South Ossetia as integral parts of its sovereign territory.