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Kobakhidze Meets Israeli Ambassador Amid Middle East Conflict
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze met with Israel's Ambassador Walid Abu Haya on March 11 to discuss the ongoing war in the Middle East.
Kobakhidze "expressed concern over the developments in the Middle East and extended condolences to Israel over the loss of lives," the government said in a press release. He also "expressed hope that peace will soon be restored in the region and emphasized the importance of stability for the well-being of countries and their peoples." The meeting also touched on the "centuries-long friendly relations between Georgia and Israel," the statement said.
Israel's embassy has not released an official statement about the meeting.
The meeting came a day after Kobakhidze congratulated Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei on his "election" as the new Supreme Leader of Iran, following the death of his father, Ali Khamenei, in U.S.-Israeli strikes at the start of the conflict.
Hours later, Israel's Embassy in Georgia posted on Facebook about Mojtaba Khamenei. The post described him as both a "product" and an "architect" of the "same machinery of repression and destabilization that defined the era" of his father. The embassy did not mention Kobakhidze's letter directly but emphasized that despite the change in Iran's leadership, "the reality has not changed."
Samkharadze Accuses European Companies of Trying to Bypass Russia Sanctions via Georgia
Nikoloz Samkharadze, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Georgian Dream-led Parliament, accused European companies of attempting to use Georgia to circumvent sanctions imposed on Russia.
"There are always attempts to use Georgia to circumvent sanctions, and among them, to a large extent, by European companies. Therefore, let them first of all look after their own companies that are trying to circumvent sanctions," Samkharadze said.
According to him, since 2022 the Georgian Revenue Service has suspended several thousand cargo operations originating from the European Union that were allegedly intended to enter Russia in violation of sanctions.
Samkharadze said Georgian authorities inspect cargo and only allow transport operations that comply with sanctions rules.
His comments came after EU sanctions envoy David O'Sullivan informed Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Bochorishvili that the Kulevi Oil Terminal had not been included in the EU's 20th sanctions package against Russia.
