Mr. Nikoloz Samkharadze:

I thank members for the question and remarks. Is Russia trying to influence Georgian politics? Yes, it is. It does so using different means. After Ukraine, Georgia is the country that is most exposed to Russian hybrid warfare. It is not only about occupation of our territories, it is also about the daily provocations the Russians are staging and the Russian propaganda that is active in Georgia. Russia is working against the Government and the people. The propaganda and certain actions that try to destabilise the internal situation in the country are another big headache we have to fight on a daily basis. This is not new to us. We have been fighting it for the past several decades, but it intensifies when Russia realises that Georgia is getting closer to the European Union, and to NATO for that matter. The intensity of Russia's statements and attempts to undermine Georgian statehood increase. We did not have pro-Russian parties in Georgia for quite a long time or the ones we had were marginal. Now certain forces are becoming more vocal and they are pro-Russian forces. They are not in the Parliament yet, but we will have elections in 2024 and we do not know what support they will get. Therefore we must always be cautious and vigilant about fighting all types of Russian hybrid warfare against Georgia.

Georgia supports the EU's financial sanctions and was the first country where Russian banks ceased to exist, three days after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We are fully committed to upholding sanctions against Russia. As members will be aware, Georgia is a border state, so many people and stakeholders might want to evade sanctions through Georgia, but there has not been a single case or fact until now that Georgian territory is being used by anyone to evade sanctions.

We stand firm on this. We work in close co-operation with our European partners in that regard.

As for bilateral sanctions, the committee will be aware that Georgia does not have bilateral sanctions on Russia because most of our trade with Russia is food products and foodstuff. We export wine, mineral waters and fruit and vegetables to Russia, as well as fertilisers, and we import grain, wheat and foodstuffs such as buckwheat, sugar and sunflower oil from Russia. These are the major commodities for export and import. We also import certain oil products. Other than that, our trade with Russia is not big. It is only €2 billion per year, which is, I believe, very little compared to the volumes of the European countries' trade with Russia.

Economically, trade with Russia is 11% of Georgia's overall trade and, therefore, still significant but if you look at the trajectory, we are increasingly oriented towards the European Union and we are increasing our exports to the European Union. Last year, the export increase to the European Union was 27%. We want to continue that trend.

On Saakashvili, I can only say that he is in a private clinic. He is in the hospital. He has been in the hospital for the past year already and his health condition is in his own hands. If he co-operates with the medical staff that are there, his health condition will improve. The problem is that he is not co-operating with the medical staff. With this, he perhaps is trying to get a release on humanitarian grounds. However, as the committee will be aware, we have to look at the Georgian legislation as well. The Georgian legislation clearly says that a convict can be released on humanitarian grounds if that person has a terminal illness and this is not the case with the former president. This is the situation. He has also applied to the European Court of Human Rights on his case but the European Court of Human Rights replied that his case was not admissible because it did not see any problem with the case.

It is a problem. I have to inform the committee that he also signed a contract with a lobbying company in the United States worth $1 million. The lobbying contract envisages publication of articles in different media outlets, including newspapers and magazines, coverage on TV and approaching different politicians in different countries to lobby for his release. This is, to our understanding, a very unfortunate development because it is unclear where the former president has the funds to sign a contract with a lobbying company worth $1 million. It is really pointing at some dubious financial interactions.

Also, some of the doctors that provided certain reports on-----