Georgian Authorities Deny Information on Russia Smuggling Sanctioned Products Using Georgian Territory
By Khatia Bzhalava
Tuesday, April 5, 2022
Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine and the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk stated yesterday that the Georgian political leadership has agreed with Russia to smuggle sanctioned goods through Georgia. The Georgian authorities categorically deny the information, calling it ‘absurd’.
According to the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, the information on Russia creating smuggling channels for sanctioned products using Georgian territory is ‘a completely baseless and absurd accusation’. The Ministry stated that since the very first days of the imposition of sanctions on the Russian Federation by the international community, Georgia has been strictly controlling all customs checkpoints in the country and has been monitoring incoming and outgoing cargo. The Ministry announced with ‘full responsibility’ that any sanctioned products are subject to strict customs control by the Georgian government.
“It should be noted that all our international partners are informed about this in detail. Georgia will continue to exercise strict control in this area and share information with partners,” the statement reads.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party MP Gia Tsagareishvili assessed the information as ‘provocative’. According to him, some sources in Ukraine, as well as the Georgian opposition, were spreading ‘lies’ regarding this matter.
The ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party MP and Parliament Vice-Speaker Giorgi Kakhiani said that the spread accusation was ‘insulting for Georgia’. He stressed that the statement was not true and questioned whether the information was related to the hybrid war waged against Georgia.
The Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine alleged in the statement that bypassing the sanctions, Russian agents are setting up smuggling channels that run, among others, through Georgia. The statement also claims that the representatives of the Georgian special services were instructed by the political leadership not to interfere in the activities of smugglers. The intelligence service further stressed that the possibility of resuming air traffic between the Russian Federation and Georgia is currently being considered.
