On June 28, Kumar Iyer, Director General, Economics, Science, and Technology at the UK Foreign Office, and Ambassador James O'Brien, Head of the Office of Sanctions Coordination at the US State Department, held a joint news conference.

Kumar Iyer emphasized that the purpose of their visit was to examine 38 different pieces of electrical equipment. He added that their objective involved travel to other nations besides Georgia. Ambassador O'Brien emphasized that while the sale of some brands of gadgets was permissible at the start of the year, by the end of February, it was prohibited for some amounts. As a result, trade dynamics with Russia's neighbors have gradually changed.

EU Sanctions Envoy David O'Sullivan voiced regret at Georgia's decision to abstain from joining the sanctions on Russia. We are sad that this is not the situation for a nation that seeks to be a member of the European Union since Georgia, of course, is not enforcing sanctions. Ultimately, notwithstanding the uniqueness of Georgia's circumstances, O'Sullivan said we would also like to see a high level of agreement in foreign policy. O'Sullivan emphasized that despite Georgia's lack of involvement in the sanctions, the government has shown a serious commitment to preventing Georgia from being used as a springboard by Russia to circumvent the sanctions framework. He applauded Tbilisi's actions in limiting the export of sensitive goods and remaining diligent in applying financial restrictions. O'Sullivan emphasized the significance of the current EU-Georgian agenda and voiced optimism that Georgia will be accepted as a member of the EU. He said that the sanctions shouldn't hamper the growth of their close bilateral relations, adding, "I'm happy to say that what we've seen in the last two days proves that this is absolutely not the case."

Response from Georgian Dream

Irakli Kobakhidze, the chairman of the ruling Georgian Dream, responded to statements by part of the opposition and the non-governmental sector that the visit of EU and US sanctions policy coordinators to Tbilisi indicates an intention to impose sanctions against Georgia.

"These are Prigozhin’s approaches – when you want to create a problem for the country as much as possible. What the representatives of the opposition do not hide," Kobakhidze said. According to Kobakhidze, Tbilisi does not impose sanctions against the Russian Federation but does not allow anyone to use this territory to circumvent sanctions. According to him, the opponents of the authorities, seeking the introduction of national sanctions against Russia, are trying to speculate on everything. "Our government agencies have prevented dozens of attempts to circumvent sanctions, and our partners know this. The work continues, coordination with international partners is necessary at every stage, and the visit serves to strengthen this coordination," Kobakhidze said.

He said that there are risks because government agencies are mobilized. "When there are risks, coordination is needed, which is why such meetings are needed. You remember the thousands of speculations and lies spread by representatives of the radical opposition, representatives of the Ukrainian authorities, and other people, but each time it was proved that all this was an empty lie. Government agencies are doing everything to ensure that the country's territory is not used to circumvent sanctions," Kobakhidze emphasized.