Irakli Kobakhidze: There are prime ministers of certain countries who can fly from Europe to Moscow - We have nothing against that - it is those countries’ business - but double standards are very bad
“There are prime ministers of certain countries who can fly from Europe to Moscow. We have nothing against that - it is the business of those countries - but the double standards we see from European bureaucracy are very bad,” Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said.
As he explained, the double approaches the European Union demonstrates toward Georgia are “shameful.”
“What we have been talking about is now being fully exposed. European bureaucracy is now openly demanding that we join the sanctions regime. Previously, they tried to avoid talking about this as much as possible, then they slipped it into a European Parliament resolution, and now even the executive branch is demanding that we join the sanctions.
I would like to remind you that back in March 2022, we made a simple calculation and found that joining the sanctions would have caused at least a 10% decline in the economy. Naturally, there was no justification for this, so we made our decision in line with national interests.
Later, even the radical opposition distanced itself from this demand, claiming they had never called for joining the sanctions, although in reality other processes were taking place. Now the executive branch is directly demanding that we join the sanctions, which fully exposes everything.
I also want to remind you that no one from European bureaucracy has ever made the same demand of, for example, Moldova, Armenia, or any other country. Here again, double standards are evident. Even Ms. Kallas cannot say that Moldova does not want EU membership - of course, double standards exist everywhere.
There are prime ministers of certain countries who can fly from Europe to Moscow. We have nothing against that; it is those countries’ business. But the double standards we see from European bureaucracy are very bad. In one case, something may be acceptable, while in another case, a situation ten times less significant may provoke a sharply negative reaction.
Of course, the double approaches the European Union demonstrates toward Georgia are shameful,” Kobakhidze said.
