Oleksiy Goncharenko, an Ukrainian MP, on Thursday called on his country’s president and the national security and defence council chair to impose sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, a billionaire founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party, and the current chair of the party Irakli Kobakhidze for “backing Moscow and its goals” amid the latter’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
In his social media post, Goncharenko cited Ivanishvili as a “shadow ruler affiliated with the Kremlin”, while he said Kobakhidze was spreading “pro-Kremlin messages”.
He noted last year, on the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the trade turnover between Russia and Georgia had reached “record high” over the past 16 years “thanks to the Georgian government’s pro-Russian stance”.
“While Georgians are fighting on the side of Ukraine, the pro-Russian government of Georgia is trying to get closer to Russia and help them overcome economic difficulties [sparked by international sanctions]”, Goncharenko claimed.
He also condemned Moscow’s move on Wednesday to lift visa and travel restrictions with Georgia, and slammed Kobakhidze for “evaluating the move positively”.
