Garibashvili explains Georgia`s refusal to join sanctions against  Russia

ArmInfo.Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili explained that if Georgia joins the financial sanctions of the West against the Russian Federation,  winemakers, exporters, and farmers of the country will suffer serious  damage, tourism will suffer, and thus it will "harm national  interests."

Earlier, Garibashvili said that the country would not join the  financial and economic sanctions imposed by the West against Russia.

"When it comes to sanctions, thousands of winemakers, exporters,  farmers are involved in this process.  What am I supposed to do?  Should I impose sanctions on our people? ... Therefore, these extra  emotions will not give anything, it harms our national interests," he  said. 

Garibashvili said that after the 2008 conflict, then Georgian  President Mikheil Saakashvili and his government were looking for  ways to restore trade relations with Russia and open up the Russian  market, and after the war, Saakashvili sold almost all strategic  facilities to Russian companies.

" We have achieved everything thanks to our reasonable, national and  patriotic policy: an association agreement with the EU, a visa-free  regime and progress in many other things, including the opening of  the Russian market," Garibashvili said, RIA Novosti reports.

The head of government noted that after the opening of the Russian  market, from 2013 to 2021, agricultural products worth $2 billion  were exported from Georgia to Russia, the export of other products is  $3 billion.  According to him, due to tourism over the past five  years, the country has received $3 billion in income - more than 5  million guests from Russia have visited Georgia. The prime minister  also added that about 1 million Georgians live in the Russian  Federation, annual remittances amount to $500 million.

Western countries announced a new round of the sanctions spiral,  which has been unwinding since 2014, after President Vladimir Putin  signed decrees on February 21 recognizing the sovereignty of the LPR  and DPR, and on February 24 announced the launch of a special  operation in Donbass. Several major Russian banks fell under the new  restrictions, including Sberbank and VTB. For some state-owned  companies, it is difficult to attract foreign capital. Sanctions have  been imposed on the supply of high-tech products to Russia. Germany  has stopped certification of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

Moscow said it had prepared a plan of action in advance in case of a  new wave of sanctions and would provide any necessary support to  businesses that fell under the restrictions, ensuring the smooth  operation of the economy. The government is also developing response  measures, but the details are not yet known.