TBILISI, January 20. /TASS/. A Georgian politician believes the West sanctioned his country because it refused to open a second front against Russia.
"As for the country and its interests, what is the driving force behind threats and blackmail with sanctions? Why are they doing this? There is a reason for everything: the first one is that we have not ceded the country, refrained from dragging it into the war, refused to open a 'second front,' despite the calls from certain ambassadors. I will refrain from naming them," said Kakha Kaladze, secretary general of the ruling Georgian Dream - Democratic Georgia party and mayor of Tbilisi.
He stressed that his country is not afraid of sanctions and blackmail and will not be bullied into doing something that goes against its interests. "It turns out that the country’s not joining sanctions (against Russia - TASS) is a crime: the nerve of Georgia’s authorities and [the party’s founder and honorary leader Bidzina] Ivanishvili to not join sanctions which would harm our country, devastate our economy, and ruin our people," he noted.
The US Department of State announced on November 30, 2024 that the United States was suspending its strategic partnership with Georgia after Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said that the ruling party had decided to postpone any talk about launching accession negotiations with the EU until late 2028. According to the premier, the decision comes after repeated attempts by the EU to blackmail Georgia with promises of launching the talks in exchange for Tbilisi revoking certain laws passed by the country’s parliament, and calls for sanctions against Georgian authorities. This statement sparked a wave of protests across the country, which continue to this day.
Later, the United States and a number of European countries imposed sanctions against several Georgian officials and ruling party leaders, including Ivanishvili.