“The dual approaches that the European Union is adopting towards Georgia are utterly shameful,” Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze told journalists.

As the head of government pointed out, European bureaucrats are now directly demanding that Georgia join the sanctions.

“A thorough lustration is underway of everything we previously consulted. European officials are already insisting that we implement sanctions, something they once avoided discussing openly. Initially, they sneaked it into the European Parliament resolution, and now the executive branch is also pressing for Georgia to join.

I would remind you that in 2022, we conducted a straightforward analysis and saw that participating in sanctions would result in at least a ten per cent decline in our economy. Naturally, there was no benefit in that, so we decided in accordance with our national interests. Even the radical opposition later distanced itself from this demand, stating they had never requested Georgia to join sanctions.

In reality, other processes were happening behind the scenes, and now the executive branch is openly demanding compliance, a clear case of lustration.

I would also like to emphasise that no European bureaucracy has made similar demands of Moldova, Armenia, or any other country. This reveals evident double standards. At least in this case, Kaja Kallas cannot claim that Moldova does not wish to join the European Union. Double standards are everywhere. There are prime ministers of specific countries who can fly freely between Europe and Moscow. We have no issue with that; it is the concern of those respective nations. But what is unacceptable is the clear double standard applied by the European bureaucracy.

In one instance, certain actions may be deemed acceptable; in another, even a tenth of that may provoke a sharply negative reaction. The double standards that the European Union is displaying towards Georgia are utterly shameful,” Irakli Kobakhidze concluded.