The Speaker of the Georgian Parliament alleged the presence of the 6-year arms embargo imposed by NATO countries on Georgia after the 2008 war with Russia, claiming that the previous United National Movement [UNM] Government concealed this information from the public.

“The Georgian army together with its partners has repeatedly shown off their best in various hotspots. While the majority of NATO member states were represented by a few dozen or a few soldiers in Afghanistan, the Georgian Defence Forces were the 4th largest contingent in Afghanistan after the US, Germany and Italy, performed the most difficult missions. When NATO troops were withdrawing from Afghanistan, the Government of Georgia ensured the rapid withdrawal of these troops, and Georgia played a decisive role.

In 2008, when there was a devastating war for us, after that war, no NATO country gave weapons to our country. At that time, the UNM concealed it, and the public did not know that the country was under sanctions.

We have to think about all this sometimes. No one will put the interests of our country above the interests of their own country. Therefore, we should not put the interest of others above the interest of our country”, - said Shalva Papuashvili.

His comments followed the European Union’s decision to freeze EUR 30 million intended for the Georgian Ministry of Defence.