For Georgia’s Sichinava: Authorities must answer questions over fuel supplies to occupied Abkhazia

A responsible government must answer questions about which businesses supplied fuel to the occupied territory of Abkhazia, the volume of the shipment, and its final destination, Berdia Sichinava, a member of the Gakharia for Georgia party, said.

Sichinava said there was nothing unusual about the movement of cargo if it was carried out for humanitarian purposes.

“We need to distinguish between two aspects of this issue. The most important thing is that Georgia’s Law on Occupation is not violated. If this cargo movement was carried out for humanitarian purposes, there is certainly nothing surprising about it. You know that Georgia is involved in a number of such humanitarian projects, including projects involving our fellow citizens. We finance the medical treatment of our Abkhaz brothers. Take Enguri HPP, for example: we receive electricity, as do our citizens and our population living in the occupied territory.

“So there is nothing particularly unusual here. The main issue, however, is that this process is effectively taking place in secret. We do not know how much fuel was supplied, which businesses were involved, or through what procedures the fuel entered the occupied territory of Abkhazia,” Sichinava said.

According to Sichinava, if the fuel entered the occupied territory as an economic shipment rather than humanitarian cargo, and if it underwent so-called customs procedures at the so-called border—which is in reality the occupation line—this could represent a serious and alarming development for Georgia’s territorial integrity and security.

“Therefore, a responsible government must first answer these questions. The most important question is whether this cargo was ultimately used for critical infrastructure and humanitarian purposes, or whether it was used for critical infrastructure in the southern regions of the Russian Federation and contributed to the conduct of the war. This is a very important issue.

“Throughout this period, when we were being told that the so-called ‘deep state’ wanted to drag us into the war, could Irakli Kobakhidze happen to be the official, the prime minister, who is dragging Georgia into the war—but on the side of the Russian Federation?

That is precisely why a responsible government must first answer these questions: Which businesses brought in this cargo? Was it supplied for humanitarian purposes? What volume of cargo are we talking about, and what procedures did it undergo? What is the final destination of this cargo? These are the questions concerning society, and I hope they will have the wisdom to come forward and provide answers,” Sichinava said.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, responding to a question about fuel imports into occupied Abkhazia at a briefing held yesterday at the Government Administration, said: “We did not import fuel into Abkhazia; businesses did. If we can alleviate the situation of the population living in Abkhazia, we will do so, but within the framework of the Law on Occupation.”