The Ministry of Finance of Georgia responds to the statements of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine and the Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk that the Georgian political leadership has agreed with Russia to smuggle sanctioned goods through Georgia. According to the Ministry, this information is a completely baseless and absurd accusation.

According to a statement issued by the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, from the very first days of the imposition of sanctions by the international community on the Russian Federation, Georgia exercises strict control over all customs checkpoints in the country and monitors incoming and outgoing cargo.

"The Ministry of Finance of Georgia declares with full responsibility that any type of goods, both military and dual-use, as well as all the products that are included in the list of sanctions, are subject to strict customs control by the Georgian government.

It should be noted that all our international partners are informed about this in detail.

Georgia will continue to exercise strict control in this area and share information with partners," the statement said.

According to the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine, Russia is creating channels for smuggling military and other products under sanctions, which will pass through the territory of Georgia with the consent of the Government. Ukrainian media reports about this based on the information spread by the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.

"Due to the introduction of international sanctions, the Russian Federation has lost the ability to supply a large range of military, dual-use and civilian goods. Bypassing the sanctions, Russian agents are setting up smuggling channels that run, among others, through Georgia. At the same time, the representatives of the Georgian special services were instructed by the political leadership not to interfere in the activities of smugglers," said the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine.

According to the intelligence service, another source of military supplies to the Russian Federation is known to be the East Asian channel.

The Ukrainian intelligence service also says that the possibility of resuming air traffic between the Russian Federation and Georgia is currently being considered.