Georgia’s ruling party Sec Gen: imposing sanctions on Russia would harm Georgia, while Europe continues trading

Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday expressed skepticism over calls for sanctions against Russia, questioning why Georgia should take measures that could harm its own economy.

Kaladze’s comments came in response to the European Council’s recent report on EU enlargement.

Kaladze argued that imposing sanctions on Russia was “unrealistic”, pointing out that some European countries continue to maintain active economic ties with Russia.

“What sanctions should we be imposing on Russia? They themselves are engaged in extensive trade with Russia - the very representatives of certain European countries who are calling on us to impose sanctions. Take a look at the statistics from recent years: look at their economic turnover with Russia. Are we fools? As if imposing sanctions on Russia would somehow collapse the Russian economy. It’s unthinkable. By doing so, we would only destroy our own country’s economy and hurt the hardworking Georgian people. Why should we do something so damaging to our own country, while they themselves continue to trade with Russia even today?” he concluded.