Irakli Kobakhidze, Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party said Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili made correct accents when he spoke about the government’s policy with regard to the war in Ukraine and Georgia-Russia relations when addressing the panel discussion of the Third Economic Forum in Qatar.

The GD Chair reconfirmed that Georgia was in solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people, having backed all resolutions condemning military aggression and supporting the country’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. However, Georgia’s policy regarding sanctions was clear.

“We do not impose sanctions on Russia, and the logic is simple. We do not punish our people, our country,” Kobakhidze said, adding that Ukraine’s high-ranking officials openly demanded opening a second [war] front in Georgia.

“It is important that the international community knows everything asked from our country, including by the Ukrainian officials. This is very hard, but this information should be shared with our international partners,” he said.

The GD Chair further clarified that the imposition of sanctions would cause the downfall of the Georgian economy by at least 10%.

“Georgia is a small country and does not have the resources, although the government can harm its own people with such sanctions,” he said.

The GD Chair added that Georgia needed free trade agreement with the US, facilitation of a visa regime and direct flights.

“Hopefully, under the next ambassador, these issues will be resolved. Until then, unfortunately, we have to make substantial progress in this direction. It is important to have progress in Georgia-US relations in three directions,” he said.