Georgia-based fuel company Repsol has confirmed that Solidus purchased fuel from the company which was later delivered to Russian-occupied Abkhazia.
Repsol said it does not coordinate with Solidus on where the purchased petroleum products are subsequently sold and that the matter falls outside its responsibility.
“This year, Solidus LLC purchased gasoline-type fuel from the company, paid for the product and has been gradually taking delivery of it. Where Solidus LLC subsequently sells the purchased petroleum products is not agreed with us and falls outside the scope of our responsibility,” Repsol said in a statement.
The company added that, based on the information available to it, Solidus has received special authorization to conduct economic activities in Georgia’s occupied territory, specifically in the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia.
Repsol said it operates in full compliance with Georgian legislation and international regulations.
The company later clarified its statement, saying the fuel supply was carried out under an existing contractual obligation and that it does not plan further deliveries to Solidus.
“Additionally, we clarify that the supply in question was carried out within the framework of a contractual obligation, and we do not plan any further supplies to Solidus LLC,” the company said.
The confirmation follows reports of fuel being transported from Georgian-controlled territory to occupied Abkhazia as the region faces a fuel shortage.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze confirmed on August 12 that fuel had entered the occupied region from Georgian-controlled territory. He stressed that the Georgian state was not responsible for the delivery and that it had been carried out by a private business.
Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty later reported that Solidus was the company that transported the fuel to occupied Abkhazia. The company’s authorization to conduct economic activities in Georgia’s occupied territories was extended under an August 11 decree issued by Kobakhidze.
The de facto authorities in occupied Abkhazia have also said that Georgia did not obstruct the fuel delivery. They said participants in Abkhazia’s fuel market had “managed to find an opportunity to import fuel from the territory of Georgia.”
Related story: Kobakhidze confirms fuel supplied to occupied Abkhazia from Georgian-controlled territory
