Ukraine has carried out its threat to impose entry bans and other punitive measures against Georgia’s leaders.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree in Kiev on Thursday targeting Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze and 18 other politicians.
The move followed a seventh consecutive night of protests against Kobakhidze’s decision to postpone European Union accession talks.
Many in Georgia attribute the delay to the influence of Bidzina Ivanishvili, the country’s richest person and founder of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
Ukraine, like the opposition in Georgia, suspects that Moscow influences the policies of the Georgian government.
“These are sanctions against the part of the government in Georgia that extradites Georgia to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin,” Zelensky said in a statement.
The sanctions list also includes Ivanishvili, along with Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri and Kakha Kaladze, the mayor of the capital Tbilisi.
All assets they have in Ukraine will be frozen and their economic activities will be banned.
Even though the measures are quite symbolic, they mark a deep divide between Ukraine and Georgia. For years they were allies in their defense against Moscow’s expansionism.
“We cannot afford to lose anyone in this region – neither Georgia, nor Moldova, nor Ukraine,” Zelensky said. “We must defend ourselves together against Moscow.”
On Wednesday evening, thousands of pro-European demonstrators again protested against the government in Tbilisi. However, unlike previous evenings, the meeting was not broken up by force.
