Georgian MP: EU shield lets Baltic states hide secret trade with Russia

A senior Georgian lawmaker has accused the Baltic States of pursuing double standards in their relations with Russia, citing reports that companies from Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia continue to conduct covert business operations with Moscow despite Western sanctions.

Irakli Kadagishvili, an MP from the ruling Georgian Dream–Democratic Georgia party, criticised the alleged hypocrisy following a recent journalistic investigation by Lithuania’s public broadcaster LRT, Caliber.Az reports via Georgian media.

The investigation revealed that a network of companies based in the three Baltic States had allegedly supplied fuel to tankers belonging to Russia’s so-called “shadow fleet,” which is used to bypass international sanctions and export Russian oil to global markets.

“It’s a double standard when they tell you: ‘Don’t do this, destroy your economy,’ yet they themselves enjoy the EU umbrella and at the same time are engaged in secret deals and shady economic activities,” Kadagishvili said.

The MP added that while politics often dictates rhetoric, economic interests continue to drive behaviour. “When they occasionally point the finger at us without any justification, it is precisely such facts that demonstrate indirect, direct, or hidden economic ties with sanctioned Russia,” he noted.

By Tamilla Hasanova