Garibashvili Comments on Controversial Belarus KGB Deal

Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said the controversial deal between the Georgian State Security Service and Belarusian KGB, that was signed in 2016 and entered into force in August 2021, is not against anyone and will not be used against anyone, including Belarusian citizens.

Noting that the deal is an ordinary framework-agreement, in the frames of which the two security agencies will fight against transnational crime, terrorism, etc., the Prime Minister told reporters today that the accord carries no crucial importance.

PM Garibashvili explained that the agreement with the Belarusian State Security Committee was struck in 2016, when the western countries had “normal, good relations and were in full coordination [with Belarus] and Belarus was striving for normal relations with the western countries.” He said even some western European nations have similar agreements with Minsk.

“Five years passed since then and no one remembered [the deal]. Simply, it seems, a month ago Belarus brought the agreement into force,” the PM asserted, adding that the move was followed by “our own saboteurs and enemies of our country starting yet another propaganda against the state… and covered the issue with such an angle as if we are dealing with something extraordinary.”

Noteworthy, that the agreement stipulates in its final Article 14, that it enters into force on the first day of month following the exchange of the official diplomatic notes. This implies that the exchange of notes between Georgia and Belarus happened in July 2021.

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