"Nothing has really changed. I just had a conversation with Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili, and his position remains exactly the same. Nothing extraordinary. In fact, this is a reward for protecting our country's national interests," said Irakli Kobakhidze, the illegitimate Prime Minister of Georgia, in response to the United States' sanctions against Bidzina Ivanishvili, the founder of Georgian Dream.
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According to Kobakhidze, Ivanishvili has previously faced de facto sanctions and has been subjected to blackmail with the threat of formal sanctions for almost three years.
“You are aware of the challenges our country faced in 2022, what was demanded from the team, and what was specifically demanded of Mr. Bidzina Ivanishvili. Precisely because he did not oppose the fundamental and key interests of our country, de facto sanctions were imposed initially. Now, ultimately, a decision has been made that holds no substantive meaning. On the contrary, this decision has finally removed the blackmail tool from their hands. This is what the force we refer to as the Global War Party has been doing for the past three years. I remain hopeful that everything will change in the opposite direction,” Kobakhidze told journalists.
On December 27, the United States imposed financial sanctions on the founder of the Georgian Dream party for “undermining Georgia’s democratic and Euro-Atlantic future in favor of the Russian Federation.”
The Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) added Bidzina Ivanishvili to its list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons. The sanctions prohibit specific transactions, including the execution of a judgment, order, or settlement in the Singapore Court of Appeals against Ivanishvili, as well as the issuance of any payment requiring OFAC approval.
