TBILISI, May 10. /TASS/. Georgia is not planning to impose bilateral sanctions against Russia for reasons of national interest and to avoid exacerbating relations, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili told reporters on Wednesday.

"Georgia is not going to impose bilateral sanctions against Russia guided by the national interests of our population to avoid an escalation in relations," Papuashvili said. He also claimed that "Georgia is still at great risk of a possible military conflict with Russia."

On February 25, 2022, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili announced that he had no plans to impose sanctions against Russia, citing the national interests of the country. In March 2022, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky recalled the ambassador from Tbilisi for what he called "an immoral position" from the Georgian authorities on the sanctions issue.

EU leaders granted candidate status to Moldova and Ukraine in June 2022, but rejected Georgia, recognizing only its European perspective. They issued 12 recommendations to the country in order to be granted EU candidate status, including fighting corruption, strengthening the rule of law, and passing a law against oligarchs.