Opposition “unhappy’ by lack of evidence on Russia evading Ukraine sanctions through Georgia - Vice Parliament Speaker
Volski said “I cannot imagine the opposition is pleased with the absence of black holes in Georgia”. Photo: Parliament press office
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Gia Volski, the Vice Speaker of the Georgian Parliament, on Wednesday claimed a part of the domestic opposition was “unhappy” with the Government's "effective work" that had resulted in absence of evidence suggesting Russia evading international sanctions imposed on it for its invasion of Ukraine through Georgian territory.
In his press remarks following reports by the domestic media platform factcheck.ge on Monday that endorsed Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili's statement that "no facts" of Russia circumventing sanctions through the Georgian territory had been confirmed, Volski criticised opposition members who had questioned the assertion.
The Parliament official was also commenting after opposition lawmaker Roman Gotsiridze, a former member of the United National Movement party, claimed this week that banned goods were entering Russia from Georgia, calling the allegation “an axiom” and claiming statistics “confirmed” the claim.
Gotsiridze added Georgia's exports to the countries of Central Asia had increased, facilitating entry of such goods into Russia.
In response to the allegations, Volski said "I cannot imagine the opposition is pleased with the absence of black holes in Georgia. They have built their [anti-Government] strategy around the existence of these black holes".
He further noted the country's authorities relied on international assessments rather than reports from platforms like factcheck.ge, which was launched in 2013 by the domestic Georgian Reforms Associates non-governmental organisation.
He cited sanctions officials from the European Union, the United Kingdom and the United States, who visited Georgia in June, in their commending the Georgian authorities for preventing entry of sanctioned goods into Russia.
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Irakli Kadagishvili, a fellow GD MP, added Georgia was “actively engaged in continuous collaboration” with the US, EU and the UK to prevent the inflow of sanctioned goods to Russia, emphasising “from this standpoint, Georgia is steadfast in fulfilling its international obligations”.
He asserted the domestic opposition was “worried” the country had built a “commendable reputation worldwide” in contrast to some of the countries imposing the sanctions.