Georgian MP addresses US congressmen, senators, ambassador not to support US company Frontera
MP Beka Natsvlishvili says that the US Company Frontera is violating the law and the rights of its employees. Photo: 1TV.
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Georgian Independent MP Beka Natsvlishvili, who left the ruling Georgian Dream party last year, has addressed US congressmen, senators and newly appointed Ambassador Kelly Degnan regarding the activities of American oil and gas company Frontera, which has been drilling in eastern Georgia starting 1997.
Natsvlishvili say that the recent letters sent by the US congressmen to the government of Georgia “on the one hand express support for the Georgian people and on the other hand protect the interests of the US companies no matter how the companies act.”
Protecting the interests of Frontera Company, which has not paid salaries to Georgian employees for 11 months, diminishes support [for Georgia],” Natsvlishvili said at a press conference earlier today, held in the presence of employees of Frontera.
He said when the employees demanded their salaries in December 2019, “they were dismissed.”
Frontera Resources entered Georgia in 1997. Photo: Frontera.
The US congressmen, who have many times confirmed their support for Georgia, should not blindly protect the interest of such companies. Moreover, they [the congressmen] must urge the company to fulfill its duties and act in line with law,” Natsvlishvili said, expressing hope that the congressmen and the US officials ‘not only protect the interests of American companies, but also, if needed, make them act responsibly.’
US Congressman Markwayne Mullin sent a letter to Georgian prime minister earlier this month regarding ‘the deteriorating economic climate’ in Georgia, mentioning Frontana.
- The government of Georgia and American company Frontera have sued each other for “violating contract conditions,” which are confidential.
- Frontera says that it has suffered $3.5 billion in damage in Georgia.
- Frontera, which was founded in the US in 1996, entered Georgia in 1997 and founded Frontera Eastern Georgia.
- The Georgian OIl and Gas Corporation owns 50 per cent of Frontera Eastern Georgia.