Finance Minister: sanctioned Russian products entering EU through Georgia “inconceivable”
The Minister reiterated there were “no questions” from Georgia’s international partners regarding the implementation of sanctions against Russia, and noted the country worked “closely” with countries that had imposed sanctions against Russia since the latter’s invasion of Ukraine, and provided “detailed information” to them. Photo: Georgian Finance Ministry
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A prospect of sanctioned Russian products entering the European Union through Georgia is “inconceivable,” Georgian Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili said on Monday, noting “not only Georgia but also the EU has a lot of control” over preventing the scenario.
The Minister’s comment came in response to a statement issued on Sunday by the intelligence service of the Ukrainian Defence Ministry, which said Georgia, along with Armenia and Azerbaijan, was in talks with Moscow to re-export Russian products to international markets. The statement said “more than 200 companies have already been established in these countries” for the purpose.
Khutsishvili said the Government would request information on the basis of the statement by the Ukrainian authorities, but added Georgia could only be a transit country for non-sanctioned goods.
The Minister reiterated there were “no questions” from Georgia’s international partners regarding the implementation of sanctions against Russia, and noted the country worked “closely” with countries that had imposed sanctions against Russia since the latter’s invasion of Ukraine, and provided “detailed information” to them.
It is important that Georgia exchanges and clarifies information with all partners, and this process ensures that no mistakes are made,” the Minister said.
Khutsishvili also elaborated on financial sanctions against Russia and Georgia’s role, saying the financial sector, in the form of the National Bank of Georgia, had a “solid” and “good” regulator and the Government did not expect “any difficulties” in this regard.
Kyiv previously accused the Georgian Government of creating smuggling channels for sanctioned products using Georgian territory in April, to which the Georgian authorities responded by urging Ukraine’s military intelligence to provide evidence for the claims.
In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy recalled Ambassador Igor Dolgov “for consultations”, before signing decrees recalling diplomats from Georgia and Morocco, citing their failure to obtain imposition of sanctions on Russia or supply of weapons to Ukraine.