The political party Lelo has responded to the Ministry of Justice’s statement regarding the arbitration dispute over the Anaklia Port project at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in Washington.

According to Lelo, the government’s claim that Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze lost the arbitration case in Washington is false. The party clarifies that the dispute was not between Khazaradze-Japaridze and the state, but between investor Bob Meijer and the Georgian state.

“The government is being dishonest by linking Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze to this arbitration case. The dispute is solely between investor Bob Meijer and the state. Regardless of the arbitration’s outcome, one fact remains unchanged: the government shut down the Anaklia project six years ago under Russian influence and has made no progress since, despite the original plan to receive the first ship in 2020. Further details will be outlined in the Anaklia Consortium’s statement, and the investors will share their own perspectives,” the Lelo party stated.

The Ministry of Justice asserts that Khazaradze and Japaridze lost the arbitration. It states that in the dispute, Bob Meijer, their Dutch partner, demanded USD 64 million. However, the tribunal rejected his claims and instead ordered him to pay USD 6.5 million to the government of Georgia.