“The European Union has now officially said that the Kulevi refinery is part of Russia’s war economy and openly exposed Kobakhidze’s official lie! The sanctioning of the Kulevi refinery is an extremely serious political signal and a verdict against the Georgian Dream regime,” Grigol Gegelia, a member of Lelo - Strong Georgia, said at a briefing today.

According to him, this is a matter of Georgia’s international reputation, European course and national interests.

“The European Union’s sanctioning of the Kulevi refinery is an extremely serious political signal and a verdict against the Georgian Dream regime. This is the first time that sanctions have been imposed on a Georgian entity not by an individual European country, but by the European Union as a whole. This is a sad and dark moment in our history. This is a situation in which our country should never have found itself. This is not an issue concerning one company or one refinery. It is an issue concerning Georgia’s international reputation, European course and national interests.

“When Georgia’s strategic infrastructure appears on the EU sanctions agenda, it means that Georgia is officially considered part of Russia’s war economy!

“On March 16, Irakli Kobakhidze stated that ‘the Kulevi port, refinery and terminal are not being used to circumvent sanctions.’ Although the port was removed from the sanctions list at the time, we now see that four months after that statement, sanctions were imposed on the refinery, which, I quote, ‘is engaged in the trading and processing of Russian oil.’ Accordingly, the European Union has now officially said that the Kulevi refinery is part of Russia’s war economy and openly exposed Kobakhidze’s official lie!

“This has once again damaged Georgia’s reputation as a reliable and valuable transit hub, further weakening our transit potential and posing a significant threat to our country’s economic interests.

“Of course, when the strategic infrastructure of a candidate country is placed under a sanctions regime, it means that candidate status has been completely and finally stripped of its political content and purpose. How did Georgia find itself in this situation? How did it happen that today, in the region, the country that was once the most pro-Western is the only one suspected of sheltering Russian oil and crypto platforms? This is the main question every Georgian should be asking today.

“Under a normal government, Georgia should have reached neither such a shameful political moment nor such a disastrous economic risk.

“Georgia should be a reliable partner for Europe, a strong transit country and a state whose strategic infrastructure is not considered in the context of international sanctions, but is perceived as a safe gateway connecting the continents of Europe and Asia through Anaklia. That is why we must end the regime that constantly equals international shame, poverty, the departure of Georgians from the country and hopelessness,” Gegelia said.