British Ambassador Gareth Ward was summoned to Georgia’s Foreign Ministry on February 26 over the United Kingdom’s decision to sanction two pro-government television channels, Imedi TV and POSTV. The ambassador reportedly already arrived at the Ministry.
“We have had communication with the British side,” Georgian Dream Foreign Minister Maka Botchorishvili told the pro-government broadcaster Rustavi 2 on February 25. “Tomorrow I expect that the British ambassador will come to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We will request clarification as to what the grounds are for such a decision.”
“In addition to the fact that we are talking about freedom of speech and standards of freedom of speech, and this concerns the media, when it comes to sanctions, very strong legal grounds are required,” Botchorishvili said.
Calling the decision “cynical,” the GD minister questioned how sanctioning two Georgian television channels could be viewed as a step toward defeating Russia.
“How can we seriously view this as the West, in this case Great Britain, seeing the sanctioning of two Georgian television channels as a path to victory over Russia?” she said.
The United Kingdom announced the sanctions on February 24 as part of a broader package of measures targeting Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. According to the British government’s announcement, Imedi TV and POSTV were designated as entities “involved in Russian disinformation” and accused of spreading “deliberately misleading information” about the war that undermines Ukraine’s sovereignty.
The sanctions include asset freezes, trust services restrictions, and director disqualification measures.
Georgian Dream Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze expressed backing for Imedi TV and POSTV following the sanctions, saying journalists at the outlets would not be negatively affected. “No journalist at any [sanctioned] TV company will face worse conditions,” he told reporters on February 25, adding that they would retain full ability to inform the public and that the government “is fully responsible for press freedom.”
Also Read:
