Georgia takes a half-hearted position ahead of new sanctions against Russia

The Prime Minister of Georgia promised not to impose sanctions against Russia. Meanwhile, a branch of VTB Bank has stopped its operation in Georgia, and problems arise with transportation of goods at customs, although no laws restricting the transportation of sanctioned goods to Russia have been adopted till present.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that on February 25, the Georgian authorities announced that they would not join the sanctions against Russia imposed after the start of the special military operation in Ukraine. Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili explained that if Georgia joins the sanctions, winemakers and farmers will suffer serious damage, as well as tourism branch.

According to the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), regardless of joining the sanctions against Russia, Georgia will lose about 114 million US dollars because of the crisis. If the country imposes its own sanctions, the loss will be no more than 500 million US dollars.

Earlier, the EU countries have agreed on an embargo on two-thirds of the oil supplied from the Russian Federation as part of the sixth package of sanctions against Russia. The new package of sanctions also includes the disconnection of Sberbank from SWIFT.