Georgian FM meets Danish counterpart, says Tbilisi “committed” to sanctions against Russia

Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili on Monday hosted his Danish counterpart Lars Løkke Rasmussen in an official meeting where he pledged Tbilisi remained committed to international sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine last year. 

In a joint press briefing at the foreign office in Tbilisi, Darchiashvili stressed “not a single evidence” had been presented to substantiate claims by domestic opposition and some media outlets of Russia’s evasion of the sanctions through use of Georgian territory or its financial institutions since the beginning of the conflict in February 2022. 

Denmark has always been manifesting firm support for ????????'s sovereignty and terr integrity, as well as its ????????integration. Today's visit of my Danish colleague @larsloekke is the reiteration of this support. We're committed to continuing working together to bolster ???????????????? relations. pic.twitter.com/Hh7jHycap9

— Ilia Darchiashvili (@iliadarch) May 15, 2023

He stressed his Government was “well-aware of its responsibilities” and would “always fulfil this commitment [of sanctions enforcement]” in a “close cooperation with the country’s foreign partners”. 

It has already been proven in practice and physically that in this direction we are in very close coordination with our international partners and work very transparently with them on this specific issue [of sanctions]”, Darchiashvili said. 

Yesterday, we hosted a ???????? delegation, led by Foreign Minister @larsloekke, on a patrol to Khurvaleti. We briefed about the security situation on the ground & highlighted how freedom of movement restrictions affect local the population’s lives.
???? More: https://t.co/Tf1F8eDMtG pic.twitter.com/PNjZiDDHLy

— EU Monitoring mission in Georgia (@EUMMGeorgia) May 15, 2023

The Danish official arrived in Georgia on Sunday and was hosted by Darchiashvili in an informal setting, following the former’s visit of the administrative line in the central Georgian village of Khurvaleti that separates the Russian-occupied Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) region from the rest of the country. 

UM @larsloekke er i ????????, hvor han besøgte den administrative grænse mellem Georgien og den russisk-kontrollerede udbryderregion Sydossetien. Med konsekvenserne af aggressiv russisk udenrigspolitik helt tæt på er der øget fokus på sikkerhedssituationen i Europas østlige nabolande. pic.twitter.com/vKzz33uBup

— Denmark MFA ???????? (@DanishMFA) May 15, 2023

Hosted by the European Union Monitoring mission, Rasmussen was briefed about Russia’s unlawful actions in the occupied regions of Tskhinvali and Abkhazia and along the adjacent administrative lines, the mission said. 

The official will on Monday meet with the country’s Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and Economy Minister Levan Davitashvili, before opening his country’s Embassy in Tbilisi later today, the Georgian foreign office said.