Baltic states’ shadow Russian oil deals expose foreign policy hypocrisy, says Georgian Parliament official

Levan Makhashvili, the Chair of the Georgian Parliament’s Committee on European Integration, on Wednesday commented on “shadow schemes” involving Russian oil exports in the Baltic States, saying these incidents reveal the moral standards of these countries, including in relation to Georgia, where the country has been unfairly criticised based on false information.

In his remarks, Makhashvili noted that the actions of the Baltic states once again convinced the public of the correctness of Georgia’s foreign policy, which is based on the principle that the country must act in accordance with its own interests.

“This demonstrates the hypocrisy that has historically underpinned, and continues to underpin, the foreign policy of these countries, and unfortunately how they use the war in Ukraine for their own benefit. The more information becomes public over time, the more convinced we are of the correctness of Georgia’s foreign policy, which is based on acting in the country’s own interests”, he said.

“This reflects the approach Georgia adopted following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine: if a country does not look after its own interests, no one else on Earth will”, the official added.

According to Lithuanian media reports based on investigative journalism, companies from the Baltic states have participated in transferring Russian oil via “shadow” tankers.