Georgia’s ruling party official calls EU move on Kulevi refinery ‘political pressure’

Levan Machavariani, the First Deputy Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party faction in the Parliament, on Saturday described the European Union’s decision to include the Kulevi oil refinery in its 21st package of sanctions against Russia as an act of political pressure, arguing that the measure is conditional rather than an immediate sanction.

In his interview with Imedi TV, Machavariani argued that if the EU had evidence that the Kulevi facility was transporting sanctioned goods or vessels, it would have imposed direct sanctions.

“This is absurd. If there were credible facts and evidence showing that the facility had been involved in transporting sanctioned goods or servicing sanctioned vessels, it would have been sanctioned directly. A few months ago, there was an attempt to place the Kulevi port on the list of sanctioned ports. However, when we requested evidence to support that decision, Brussels was unable to provide any facts and ultimately had to remove the port from the list. Yet, despite that, they continue to pursue the same approach”, he said.

The official further stressed that no sanctions have actually been imposed and accused the opposition and its affiliated media outlets of misrepresenting the situation.

“We must explain this situation accurately to the public, because the opposition and its affiliated media outlets are portraying it as though sanctions have already been imposed. Nothing has been sanctioned. The measure is written as a conditional provision for a six-month period. It states that if, within those six months, the Kulevi port does not cease receiving and processing Russian oil - which itself is not under sanctions - it could then become subject to sanctions”, Machavariani concluded.