UK's Kumar Iyer Discusses Partnership with Georgia to Prevent Flow of Military Goods into Russia and Impact of Sanctions
By Liza Mchedlidze
Thursday, June 29, 2023
Kumar Iyer, the Director General of UK's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office stated that one of the purposes of the visit is to explore avenues for sustaining the partnership in preventing the flow of military goods into Russia.
"The British Foreign Secretary visited here a few weeks ago, publicly acknowledging the friendship and partnership between the people of Great Britain and Georgia, which represents the essence of our visit. We sincerely appreciate the measures already implemented by the Georgian government to combat sanctions evasion, and this constituted a primary objective of our visit. Additionally, we are aware that the Russian government will persist and explore alternative methods. Therefore, one of the purposes of this visit is to discuss how to maintain our partnership in preventing the transportation of military goods into Russia," Iyer said.
According to him, a significant portion of Russian weapons depends on Western components that are sanctioned.
"Ambassador O'Brien discussed the importance of sanctions. I would like to add a few words about their actual impact on Russia. Firstly, they have an impact on the battlefield. We are aware that many Russian weapons rely on Western components that are sanctioned by us. Through studying materials and reports from the front, we have learned that they are no longer able to obtain these components from Western countries. Instead, they resort to using lower-quality components, resulting in reduced effectiveness of their weapons. We openly and publicly identify the components of greatest concern to us. If you are interested, you can find all the details published on our website. It is a specific set of 38 commodities that the UK, US, and EU are focusing on," Iyer explained.
He stated that the objective of the sanctions is to expedite the end of the war and prevent the loss of thousands of lives.
"Furthermore, I would like to emphasize the significant impact of our comprehensive sanctions package on the Russian economy. Previously, Russia consistently maintained budget surpluses. However, this year, there is a projected budget deficit of two percent, and based on the available data, it has already surpassed that forecast within the first four months. Additionally, we are aware that Russia's revenue from power train sales declined by 45 percent in the first quarter of this year. Furthermore, approximately 60 percent of the sovereign wealth fund and various Russian assets have been frozen. Ultimately, it is crucial to always remember and remain steadfast in our purpose - to expedite the end of the war and prevent the loss of thousands of lives," said Iyer.
Iyer stated that the primary means of evading sanctions is through land borders. Consequently, their current focus is on exploring additional measures to enhance control and monitoring, ensuring stricter oversight.
When asked about the potential risk of sanctions evasion associated with the resumption of direct flights with Russia, Kumar Iyer acknowledged that air travel would be an additional area requiring enhanced monitoring and control. He emphasized the importance of tightening measures in this aspect as well.
"During the meetings, we discussed, for example, the possibility of sharing the best positive experiences that Britain, the United States of America, and the European Union have in this regard. We offered the arrival of experts and the opportunity for additional training to further refine the control mechanisms. I want to emphasize once again what Ambassador O'Brien said: our goal is not to halt trade, especially when it comes to food products and medicine. Here, we are specifically looking at the type of goods used on the battlefield," Iyer stated.
