Sanctions

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Bidzina Ivanishvili. Photo: Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

2024 Georgian Parliamentary Elections

Georgian officials brace for further sanctions

by OC Media

•2 min read

The threat of further Western sanctions against Georgian officials over democratic backsliding in the country has led to reports of alarm within the ruling Georgian Dream party, weeks ahead of parliamentary elections. On Wednesday, TV channel Formula reported citing confidential sources that bank accounts abroad belonging to the children of Georgian Dream founder and billionaire, Bidzina Ivanishvili, had been limited. TV station Mtavari Arkhi also reported on Wednesday that Ivanishvili h

US President Joe Biden and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. Illustration by OC Media.

Freedom of Assembly

Biden snubs Georgian PM Kobakhidze by revoking UN reception invite

by OC Media

•2 min read

The White House has disinvited Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and Georgia’s delegation from a reception for world leaders on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. On Wednesday, the US Embassy in Georgia told local media that Kobakhidze’s invitation to the reception was revoked due to his government’s anti-democratic actions, misinformation, and negative rhetoric about the US and the West. Voice of America reported the snub on Tuesday, citing anonymous sources including a se

Armenia

Azerbaijani ‘NGOs’ accuse Armenia of aiding Russia in evading sanctions

by Aytan Farhadova

•3 min read

A group of pro-government Azerbaijani NGOs have drafted a statement accusing Armenia of assisting Russia in evading Western sanctions, despite trade between Azerbaijan and Russia also steadily growing since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. On 17 September, 10 Azerbaijani NGOs published the open letter addressing officials responsible for imposing and implementing sanctions against Russia in the US and EU. They cited a ‘sharp increase’ in trade between Armenia and Russia since the beginning

Bidzina Ivanishvili

US sanctions against Ivanishvili ‘ready for implementation’

by Shota Kincha

•2 min read

The US government has reportedly prepared a package of sanctions against Georgian Dream founder Bidzina Ivanishvili which they are considering imposing ‘in the near future’. Voice of America reported the news on Friday, citing anonymous US government sources as saying that the US Treasury and State Departments had been leading the development of the package. While previously only discussed, the package is now reportedly ‘ready for implementation’ pending a political decision. The sources did

US Ambassador Robin Dunnigan and Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze. Official image.

Alt Info

Kobakhidze says Washington was ‘influenced’ to sanction Georgian nationals

by OC Media

•3 min read

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has said that he believed US President Joe Biden’s administration was ‘influenced’ by ‘certain forces’ to impose sanctions on Georgian nationals, suggesting that American institutions needed ‘de-oligharchisation’. In a press briefing on Tuesday, Kobakhidze said that the decision to impose financial sanctions on four Georgian nationals, in addition to travel restrictions on over 60 others, was ‘frivolous and very sad’. He further suggested that the

Georgian soldiers marching in Tbilisi on Independence Day, 26 May 2024. Mariam Nikuradze/OC Media.

Armenia

US ‘indefinitely postpones’ annual joint military drills with Georgia

by OC Media

•2 min read

The US has ‘indefinitely’ postponed its annual military drills with Georgia, as diplomatic tensions between the two countries over the controversial foreign agent law continue to mount. On Friday, the US Department of Defence announced it would be postponing its annual Noble Partner training as part of a ‘comprehensive review of the United States–Georgia bilateral relationship’. They cited the Georgian government’s ‘false accusations against the United States and Other Western entities’, and

Democracy

Ivanishvili ‘sends personal envoy’ to Washington amidst growing reports of sanctions against Georgian officials

by OC Media

•3 min read

The founder and honorary chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, Bidzina Ivanishvili, has reportedly sent an ‘envoy’ to Washington amidst increasing reports of Georgian officials being hit with sanctions. On Sunday, former Georgian Dream prime minister and current head of the opposition For Georgia party, Giorgi Gakharia, claimed that Ivanishvili had sent a high-level official as a ‘personal envoy’ to Washington. ‘Bidzina Ivanishvili has sent one of the representatives of the Georgian g