There is an important bilateral agenda between Georgia and the European Union, and we hope that you will be welcomed as a member of the European Union someday, and we must not allow the issue of sanctions to become an irritant or an obstacle to the development of our close bilateral relations. I am happy to say that what we have seen in the last two days confirms that this is absolutely not the case, – said David O’Sullivan, EU Sanctions Envoy, at a press conference in Tbilisi.
“I am in Tbilisi with British and American colleagues. As a general context, following Russia’s illegal, full-scale and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine, the international community has imposed sanctions designed to undermine Russia’s ability to wage this war, to deprive the Russian government of revenue to wage this war, to impose a heavy economic price on Russia for this brutal and unprovoked war. We are paying special attention to the issue of possible circumvention of sanctions, and we are paying special attention to the 38 products that are used on the battlefield and that the Ukrainians have observed on the battlefield. These products make Russia’s weapons more lethal, smarter and more deadly. We are particularly concerned about any circumvention of the sanctions imposed on these products,” O’Sullivan noted.
He claimed that while Georgia does not join the sanctions against Russia, they do understand the specific situation in which Georgia is economically and geographically.
“Georgia, of course, does not implement sanctions, and we are perhaps disappointed that this is not the case for a country that aspires to be a member of the European Union. We would like a high degree of compliance in foreign policy as well. But we also understand the specific situation which Georgia is in economically, geographically, and in terms of close contacts with Russia. So, we understand that they are not going to implement our sanctions, but I have to say that what we have seen in the last two days has convinced us that the Georgian authorities are very serious about not allowing their country to be a platform for sanction circumvention. They have implemented important measures to control the export of the most sensitive 38 possible products from Georgia. The same applies to financial sanctions, where they are being vigilant, and we sincerely admire the measures they have taken.
“I want to make it clear that we are here in a period of partnership and cooperation, especially on the part of the European Union. We have an important bilateral agenda between Georgia and the European Union, and we hope it will be welcomed as a member of the European Union someday, and we must not allow the issue of sanctions to become an irritant or an obstacle to the development of our close bilateral relations. I’m happy to say that what we’ve seen in the last two days proves that this is absolutely not the case,” said O’Sullivan.
“I would be happy to say that there is not a single case of circumvention of sanctions anywhere. What I can say is that the measures that have been taken here [in Georgia] are a very strong guarantee that there will be no circumvention [of sanctions].
“For the reasons I have already mentioned, Georgia does not join our sanctions, does not implement our sanctions. However, what we have seen in the last two days is that Georgia is very serious about its commitment not to allow its territory to be used as a cover for sanctions, whether it is trade in goods, specifically 38 military goods, or financial services,” he added.
He concluded that the visit to Tbilisi was fruitful and they are leaving the country with positive impressions.
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