Europe pressures Georgia while profiting from Russia, says official

Davit Matikashvili, chairman of the Georgian Parliament’s Procedural Issues Committee, commented on data from German outlet WELT showing that EU countries increased their imports of liquefied natural gas from Russia by 14% in June compared with the same month last year.

“We were urged to impose sanctions on Russia, while they themselves are deepening their economic ties. 

It is even more obvious how extensive the anti-Georgian campaign was and continues to be, while Europeans are profiting handsomely from their economic relations with Russia,” he said.

In a parallel vein to recent Georgian critiques of European energy policies toward Russia, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze has repeatedly highlighted what he describes as EU double standards on trade and sanctions. 

Speaking to reporters, he specifically noted that European countries continue purchasing natural gas from Russia and maintain broader commercial ties, even as they pressured Georgia to cut economic links after the war in Ukraine began, calling the situation shameful. 

Kaladze has argued that Georgian sanctions would primarily damage the country’s own economy and citizens rather than Russia’s, underscoring that nations prioritise their national interests.

By Jeyhun Aghazada