Top Officials From The West To Discuss Russia Sanctions In Tbilisi

Washington D.C./27.06.23/Turan:  U.S. Sanctions Chief Jim O’Brien, aling with EU Sanctions Envoy David O’Sullivan and British government representative Kumar Iyer, will arrive in Tbilisi today to discuss with the Georgian authorities issues of "common interest, notably sanctions and their effective implementation," as the State Department put it on Monday, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

"The objective of this visit is to open a direct channel of communication and establish a cooperative dialogue for the future," the Department noted/

The trip comes amid growing concerns over trade between Russia and several countries from the Caucasus and Central Asia close to Moscow — including Georgia, Kazakhstan, and Armenia — which has surged since the start of the Kremlin's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

"I don’t want to speak to those discussions in detail other than to say that we have concerns with any country that would seek to evade the sanctions that we have imposed on Russia – the sanctions and other measures that we’ve imposed on Russia," State Dpartment spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Monday when responding to TURAN's questions.

"And we constantly look at ways that we can either tighten sanctions or crack down on any individuals or entities that try to avoid them." Miller concluded without offering further details on Tbilisi discussions.

Alex Raufoglu