Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze stated that Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream party, had already been subject to informal sanctions “due to his refusal to abandon the country’s national interests.”
According to the Prime Minister, “nothing has actually changed with today’s decision.”“Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili was already under de facto sanctions and he was blackmailed for three years with almost formal sanctions. Now this basis for blackmail has also been removed.
You know what challenges faced the country in 2022, as well as what they demanded from the team, specifically from Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili, and precisely because he did not oppose our country’s fundamental, key interests, de facto sanctions were first imposed, and now, in the end, a decision with no substantive meaning was made.
With this decision, they finally removed the blackmail instrument from their hands. For the past three years, the Global War Party has been doing just this. I am hopeful that things will shift in the other direction. However, nothing has changed; I recently spoke with Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili, who maintains the same viewpoint. Nothing extraordinary.
Bidzina Ivanishvili was subjected to de facto sanctions for three years merely for serving the interests of his country. They have already issued the statutory punishment. Nothing special, in fact, this is a reward for protecting the national interests of our country,” the PM stated.
The Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed financial sanctions on Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder and honorary chairman of the Georgian Dream ruling party.