Allies know Gov’t has prevented “dozens of attempts” of Russia sanctions evasion - ruling party head

Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said Tbilisi had prevented “dozens of attempts” of evasion of the international sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine last year, adding “our foreign partners are well-aware of this”. 

Kobakhidze’s press comments came following the visit of David O’Sullivan, the European Union Sanctions Envoy, James O'Brien, the Head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination in the United States President Joe Biden administration, and Kumar Iyer, the Director General for Economics, Science and Technology at the United Kingdom Foreign Office on Monday and Tuesday. 

Slamming “speculations” on the purpose of the visit by a part of the domestic opposition, who have accused the Government of pursuing “pro-Kremlin policies”, Kobakhidze claimed the officials’ trip aimed at “further strengthening of communication and coordination” on the issue of sanctions.

He noted the Government had refused to impose individual sanctions on Russia for its ongoing aggression against Ukraine due to potential security and economic threats, but stressed the Government “has not allowed and will not allow anyone to use the country’s territory for evading the sanctions”. 

While in Georgia, the sanctions officials met with top officials, including Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, with Georgian Government officials claiming the visiting officials gave “positive assessments” to the ruling party’s efforts in the enforcement of the sanctions.