Speaker: Basis for Rospotrebnadzor decision unclear; government investigating ban on select Georgian drinks

“The recent decision by Russia’s consumer rights regulator, Rospotrebnadzor, targets specific companies rather than Georgian wine exports as a whole,” Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili stated today.

According to Papuashvili, the official grounds for the restrictions remain unknown, but Georgian authorities are looking into the matter.

“The decision concerns a few individual companies rather than wine exports in general. The underlying grounds for this decision remain surprising and unclear to us. The government will investigate the issue, and we shall see. Hopefully, this decision will be reversed. While we have heard various interpretations from different actors, we have yet to receive any official justification,” Papuashvili said.

Russia’s Rospotrebnadzor has banned the import and sale of certain types of Georgian alcoholic beverages and mineral water in the Russian market.