Georgian Parliament Speaker accuses UK of hypocrisy over Russian oil product import policy shift

Georgian Parliament speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Wednesday accused the British government of hypocrisy following its decision to allow imports of products derived from Russian oil into the United Kingdom starting May 20.

Speaking to media, Papuashvili said the move highlights what he described as inconsistency in London’s sanctions policy toward Russia, particularly when compared to earlier pressure on Georgia to restrict Russian oil-related imports.

He recalled past interactions involving the UK’s ambassador to Georgia, saying the envoy had repeatedly urged Georgian officials and lawmakers to prevent Russian oil products from entering the country, and further pointed out that the ambassador encouraged informal pressure on businesses rather than formal sanctions.

“I will tell the public one story: it was precisely the British ambassador who personally went from office to office, including in the Parliament, meeting with various MPs, requesting meetings and speaking in a semi-threatening tone about how Russian oil products should not enter Georgia. When he was asked how Georgia was supposed to achieve this - which effectively meant imposing sanctions on Russia - he would say sanctions were not necessary and instead urged pressure on businesses so they would not import them. These are the views of the current British ambassador - that pressure should have been exerted on businesses so they would not trade as they wished”, he said.

Papuashvili added that Georgian officials had warned such restrictions could increase fuel prices, with wider effects on the cost of living, but said the ambassador dismissed these concerns, suggesting that higher prices were an unavoidable consequence of the broader geopolitical situation.

“Higher fuel prices would make bread more expensive, which in turn would raise the cost of other goods and ultimately increase the overall cost of living. His response was: ‘What can you do? Life has become more expensive for our citizens too, they pay more, and yours should pay more as well’. These are direct quotes from the current British ambassador”, the speaker said.

“And today we learn that Britain itself has lifted the sanctions. By their own logic - that trading with Russia provides funds for tanks later used against Ukrainians - they themselves are now giving money for those tanks”, he continued.

Papuashvili further stressed that the British ambassador did not particularly care about Georgian citizens.

“What is the moral of this story? The moral is that the British ambassador does not particularly care about Georgian citizens. For him, fulfilling assignments is what matters, while what happens to Georgian citizens is, to put it politely, of much less concern to the British ambassador”, he noted.

Papuashvili further added that had the Georgian government followed the British ambassador’s advice, Georgia would have faced economic collapse.

“Had we listened to the current British ambassador, amid this escalation Georgia’s economic ties with Russia would probably have been completely severed. If we had stopped importing oil, they [Russia] would likely have responded by saying: ‘we will impose an embargo, sanction Georgian wine, and stop imports’. We would have fallen into economic collapse. Instead of nearly 10% economic growth, we would have had a destroyed economy, and today people in that destroyed economy would have been reading the news that Britain suddenly decided to lift sanctions on Russia”, he said.

“Unfortunately, this is how immoral international politics can be. Those who stand in front of the Parliament waving British flags should understand this. Before waving another country’s flag, they should consider that the ambassadors and governments of those countries may not be particularly devoted even to the very citizens standing in front of the Georgian Parliament waving those flags”, the speaker added.

Papuashvili concluded by emphasising that this was the moral, “if we do not take care of ourselves, neither the British ambassador nor any representative of another country will take care of our interests”.