“Georgia averted several cases of attempts to bypass sanctions, and the efforts will continue,” said Irakli Kobakhidze, the ruling Georgian Dream (GD) party chair.

The GD Chair stated that the visit of high-profile delegates on sanction coordination issues aimed at consulting on what measures the Georgian government should take to prevent sanctions from being bypassed.

According to Kobakhidze, cooperation with international partners is significant.

“Until today, it is recognized that Georgia does not allow anyone to circumvent international sanctions. This is already a recognized fact by international partners. Our state works on prevention. There were dozens of cases when the relevant authorities prevented the attempts. Naturally, work in this direction will continue,” he said.

Speaking about speculations that Georgia is “trying to rescue its trade and economy at the expense of trade with Russia,” Kobakhidze said that all countries trade with Russia and there are risks everywhere.

“Our international partners are interested in the risks, and we are ready for coordination,” he said.

EU Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan, Head of the US State Department’s Office of Sanctions Coordination Jim O’Brien, and Kumar Iyer, Director General of Economics, Science, and Technology at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), met with representatives from the business sector.

The guests will meet Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Vice PM and Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Levan Davitashvili, Finance Minister Lasha Khutsishvili, acting President of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) Natia Turnava and General Prosecutor Irakli Shotadze.