During the conversation with the British Ambassador, it was noted that the spirit of the embassy's statement regarding the ship SILVAR is unacceptable - Georgian Foreign Ministry

The Ambassador of Great Britain to Georgia, Gareth Ward, was invited to a meeting with the First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, Giorgi Zurabashvili, - the Georgian Foreign Ministry reports.

According to them, the meeting focused on the issue of Georgia's compliance with international sanctions regimes and the work of the Georgian government and relevant state agencies in this direction.

“It was noted that in the conditions when there are no facts of violation of international sanctions by Georgia and the Georgian government cooperates smoothly with international partners, the constant speculations regarding the mentioned issue are incomprehensible.

In this context, the emphasis on Georgia in the statement issued by the Embassy on the issue of sanctioning the ship SILVAR (IMO 9291262) by the United Kingdom is of concern, which deliberately serves to reinforce wrong perceptions and damage the interests of Georgia,” the information released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs states.

According to them, the First Deputy Minister noted that the mention of Georgia in the statement issued by the embassy is unacceptable when the ship did not have any international sanctions against it at the time of its entry and operation in Georgia, it had a valid Lloyd’s Register (United Kingdom) class, operated on numerous international maritime trade routes and visited both European, Asian and African ports, including Malta, Denmark (Skagen), Egypt, Malaysia, India, China and others. In addition, all competent authorities of Georgia acted in full compliance with applicable national and international obligations.

“The British side is also well aware that just a few weeks before entering Georgia, the vessel underwent a port state control inspection in the Kingdom of Denmark, during which the vessel was not detained, which confirms its compliance with international maritime safety and technical supervision requirements,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

According to them, Giorgi Zurabashvili, speaking with the British Ambassador, noted that the spirit of the embassy’s statement was unacceptable and that such manipulative actions cast a shadow on relations between Georgia and the United Kingdom.

“At the end of the meeting, the importance of constructive cooperation was emphasized,” the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

For your information, the British Embassy in Georgia released information on the inclusion of the vessel SILVAR in the new package of sanctions on June 16.