The Daily Beat: 28 June
At the joint press conference, the US and UK sanctions coordinators – Ambassador James O’Brien and Kumar Iyer, praised the government’s proactive efforts to create a complex system for identifying sanctioned items traded with Russia. Ambassador James O’Brien said the United States is aware of Russia’s intentions to use various countries, including Georgia, to advance its objectives and actively works with Georgia to address this concern. In the meantime, EU Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan held a separate briefing and expressed disappointment over Georgia’s decision not to join the sanctions against Russia. According to David O’Sullivan, despite not joining the sanctions, the authorities demonstrated a “serious commitment” to preventing Georgia’s use as a platform for busting the sanctions regime.
President Salome Zurabishvili spoke with CNN, saying that Russia has neither sufficient resources nor the political will to challenge the West with opening up a new front in Georgia. In an interview, President urged against Russia’s soft power tools, suggesting tighter control of Russian visitors, en masse arriving in the country. Salome Zurabishvili also admitted that Georgia has close ties with NATO; nevertheless, the perspective of joining the EU appears closer, adding that the country should be granted candidate status at the end of the year as the EU can’t afford to lose Georgia in a soft power struggle with Russia.
The ruling Georgian Dream party voted down National Bank’s board candidates nominated by President Salome Zurabishvili at the parliament’s plenary session. The decision comes amidst the feud between the ruling party and the President over the National Bank appointments. The ruling party recently overrode the president’s veto on amendments to the National Bank Law. The President and experts fear that the Georgian Dream is undermining the independence of the National Bank.
The Court fined Zurab Japaridze, the leader of the “Girchi – More Freedom” party, and Nika Mosiashvili, a member of the party GEL 2,500 (approximately EUR 875) each for petty hooliganism and resisting the police during the March protest rallies against “foreign agents law.” Japaridze was arrested near the Parliament on March 8; he sustained injuries during the arrest, and the Special Investigation Service is investigating the police actions on that day.
An MP from the ruling Georgian Dream party, Mariam Lashkhi, offered her vision of reducing polarization, applying the Irish parliamentary practice of rejecting offensive language. “The Irish Parliament has a perfect practice, the Code of Ethics, which is signed not only by MPs but also by Parliament staff, which includes a list of offensive words that should not be used during Parliament’s work. This reduces polarization and promotes meaningful discussion,” suggested Mariam Lashkhi in response to opposition remarks, describing Georgian Dream MPs as “pro-Russians.”
International School of Economics Index for May 2023 indicated a continued downward trend in the Khachapuri index, showing a decrease of 4.1% (compared to April 2023). According to the fresh index, in May 2023, the average cost of preparing one standard Imeruli Khachapuri was 5.76 GEL. However, in annual terms (compared to May 2022), there is still an upward trend, showing an increase in the index by 1.9%. Given the average prices, the ingredients for Khachapuri are currently the most expensive in Batumi, while the cheapest Khachapuri can be tasted in Kutaisi. However, the difference between the most costly and affordable locations is insignificant – GEL 1.52.
