David O'Sullivan Highlights Georgian Government's Strong Commitment to Prevent Sanction Evasion
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, June 29, 2023
During a briefing, the EU Sanctions Envoy David O'Sullivan acknowledged that there are currently no sanctions imposed by Georgia. He expressed disappointment regarding this situation, considering Georgia's aspirations to join the European Union. However, O'Sullivan also recognized the specific circumstances that Georgia finds itself in, including its economic, geographic, and multilateral ties with Russia. He emphasized that the Georgian government is genuinely committed to ensuring that the country is not exploited as a means to circumvent sanctions.
"Georgia has not imposed sanctions. We may be disappointed by this, as this is a country that is aspiring to become a member of the European Union. We would like a high level of compatibility in foreign policy as well, although we also understand the very specific situation in which Georgia is economically, geographically and in terms of multilateral close contacts with Russia. We understand that they are not going to implement our sanctions," said David O'Sullivan.
According to David O'Sullivan, Georgia will continue its efforts to ensure that the country is not used to circumvent sanctions.
"Georgia is making all necessary efforts to ensure that it is not used as a platform to circumvent sanctions, and we believe that Georgia will continue these efforts. Also, I would like to point out that I am not commenting on individual sanctions. This decision can be made jointly by the member states," said David O'Sullivan.
Furthermore, the EU's special representative for sanctions emphasized that they have no intention to intervene in the lawful trade relations between Georgia and Russia.
"This is a matter of Georgian business and government. Our concerns include sanctions products and, in particular, products that may be used by the Russian armed forces and increase Russia's ability to kill innocent Ukrainians," O'Sullivan said.
O'Sullivan stated that the delegation visiting Georgia expressed satisfaction with the monitoring systems used by the country to prevent banned products from reaching Russia.
"I will repeat what I said about the 38 components. We are very satisfied with the inspection and monitoring systems used by the Georgian authorities to ensure that these products do not end up in Russia from this country," said O'Sullivan.
