TI Georgia Speaks of PM’s “Manipulation” over Resumption of Flights with Russia
Transparency International Georgia, a local watchdog, released an analysis on May 22, focusing on Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili’s “manipulation” and anti-Western rhetoric following the resumption of direct flights with Russia.
EU calls on Georgia to stop trade with Russia
TI Georgia said that PM Garibashvili’s statements that the European Union calls on Georgia to stop trade with Russia are incorrect. According to the organization, the European Union does not call on Georgia to cut economic ties with Russia, but rather to join the sanctions imposed on Russia in the aviation sector, “so that Georgia does not become a place to circumvent the sanctions imposed on Russia, which is more likely to happen if flights are resumed”.
Manipulation of EU-Russia trade figures
TI Georgia noted that the Prime Minister’s statement that “the European Union, which did not approve of Georgia’s flights, trade and economy with Russia, is still trading with Russia… In 2022, Georgia’s trade with Russia was up to USD 1 billion, and the EU’s trade [with Russia] was USD 270 billion.”
“After the start of the war in Ukraine, the EU’s trade dependence on Russia decreased three times, while Georgia’s trade dependence on Russia increased 1.5 times,” the organization said, adding that emphasizing the fact that the European Union has a much larger trade turnover with Russia than with Georgia is a manipulation because the EU’s economy is almost to USD 20 trillion and “even a small share of trade in it is a high number.”
TI Georgia also clarified that if “we are interested in how the European Union’s attitude towards Russia has changed after the war, we should compare Russia’s share in the foreign trade of the European Union and Georgia and what they have done to reduce these shares.” “Compared to 2021, the EU has sanctioned 49% of exports to Russia and 58% of imports from Russia. The Georgian government has done nothing to reduce trade with Russia,” the organization said.
It also emphasized that Russia is financed when its products are imported into another country. Based on Eurostat data, TI Georgia writes that in February 2022, when Russia started a full-scale war in Ukraine, Russia’s share in EU imports was 9.5%, and as of March 2023, it was 1.9% (in nominal terms, it decreased from EUR 21 billion to EUR 4 billion).
On the other hand, based on the data of the National Statistics Office of Georgia (Geostat), TI Georgia explains that in February 2022, Russia’s share in Georgia’s imports was 9.4%, and in March 2023 – 12.2% (in nominal terms, it increased from USD 96 million USD to USD 151 million).
“In 2022, Georgia’s trade turnover with Russia was not USD 1 billion, as Garibashvili claims, but USD 2.5 billion – 52% more than in 2021. Trade turnover between the European Union and Russia is decreasing on a monthly basis,” the organization said.
Risks on the EU integration path
Transparency International -Georgia also speaks out about the risks of sanctioning of Georgian companies amid the resumption of direct flights with Russia. TI Georgia clarifies that the EU’s decision to close the skies and impose sanctions on Russian aircraft after the invasion of Ukraine applies to all Russian companies, including the Russian company Azimuth, which has already started flights to Tbilisi.
The organization also believes that political rapprochement with Russia will hinder Georgia’s integration into the European Union, because “the European Union expects the candidate countries to share its foreign policy.
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