Georgia Asks Ukraine for Evidence on Russia Smuggling Claim

The State Security Service of Georgia today urged Ukraine’s Defense Ministry Intelligence to “immediately relay evidence” on its claim that Georgian security services allowed Russia to establish a channel for smuggling through Georgia.

In its statement, the SSG argued that “covert ties” between the Georgian security services with their Russian counterparts in this regard would be considered “a crime of a particular severe category as per the Georgian legislation.”

“The Government of Georgia will be uncompromising toward any possible cases of such a crime,” the Security Service asserted.

But, it said, if Ukraine fails to share with Tbilisi evidence backing its accusations, the Ukrainian defense intelligence allegations “will be considered premeditated disinformation.”

According to the SSG, this would be “an extremely unfriendly and a provocative step which aims to provoke domestic unrest in Georgia and willingly or not serves the interests of forces hostile toward Georgia.”

Georgia’s domestic intelligence agency said its representatives already met a Ukrainian diplomat yesterday and asked for Kyiv to share detailed information over the accusation.

“Mutual exchange of such information is envisaged in multiple interstate agreements,” it added.

Earlier, on April 4, the Finance Ministry of Georgia dismissed Ukraine’s claim as a “completely baseless and absurd accusation,” maintaining that the country keeps tight control over all customs checkpoints and monitoring all cargo “since the very first days of the imposition of international sanctions on the Russian Federation.”

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Intelligence claimed that Georgian political leadership had instructed the local security services “not to interfere with the activities” of Russian smugglers.

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