The Swiss Institute for Global Affairs (SIGA) has published an exploration on the possibility of circumventing sanctions and the transit of goods through Georgia to Russia.
This exploration noted that Georgia had not helped to skirt sanctions on Russia, as SIGA claims based on official Georgian statistics, the value of all Georgian exports to Russia in 2022 and 2023 was only about 5.3% and 7.7% higher than in 2021.
“The only category of goods that Georgia has exported in large quantities to Russia that could potentially be of concern are ferroalloys,” noted SIGA, “but as the study and review of trade data for 2023 and the first five months of 2024 show, the export of ferroalloys from Georgia to Russia has decreased significantly since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.”
From the other side, Georgian imports from Russia have indeed made a jump in the wake of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine (+79.4% in 2022 compared to 2021).
“However, they subsequently not only stagnated, but even slightly decreased (-4.9% in 2023 compared to 2022 and -6.5% in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the same period in 2023)” – stated the Swiss Institute.
Official statements of the Georgian government declare that the country supports international sanctions policies. For example, in June, Georgia joined the Declaration of the European Union Summit, which was adopted by leaders gathered at Blenheim Palace in the UK. About 50 world leaders supported the document, which targets the Russian “shadow fleet” that circumvents sanctions by supplying oil products.
