“President Volodymyr Zelenskyi noted the US sanctions against the shadow oligarch of Georgia and the honorary president of the ruling party “Georgian Dream” Bidzina Ivanishvili, calling on European states to follow this example.”, — write: www.pravda.com.ua
President Volodymyr Zelenskyi noted the US sanctions against the shadow oligarch of Georgia and the honorary president of the ruling party “Georgian Dream” Bidzina Ivanishvili, calling on European states to follow this example.
Source: Zelensky in X (Twitter), “European Truth”
Details: In the post, duplicated in English, Georgian and Ukrainian, Zelensky called the sanctions against Ivanishvili “a strong step in support of the Georgian people and our entire region.”
“Ivanishvili is the de facto ruler in Tbilisi today and is doing everything to bring Georgia under Putin’s control. The loss of any country in our region, the destruction of democracy for one people, and the spread of criminal Russian influence create danger for the entire region, for all peoples,” – emphasized the head of state.
He reminded that Ukraine has already imposed sanctions against Ivanishvili and his entourage.
“And we call on all European partners, all partners in the world who value the normal life and freedom of peoples, to apply precisely such sanctions against Ivanishvili so that he realizes what the price is for destroying the independence of his country and humiliating the Georgian people,” Zelensky added.
Bidzina Ivanishvili first left politics in 2021, but opponents of the government claimed that he continued to rule the country “from behind the scenes” and not only all ministers, but also state institutions were subordinate to him.
In 2024, Ivanishvili became the honorary president of Georgian Dream.
Earlier on Friday, it became known that the USA had imposed sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili against the backdrop of democratic backsliding and harsh crackdowns on anti-government protests in Georgia.
Also, sanctions against Ivanishvili were previously imposed by the Baltic states.