George Frangeskides, Chairman at ALBA, explains why the Pilbara Lithium option ‘was too good to miss’. Watch the video here.
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Pt.2
Journalist - What is this all about? In principle, you do not find it difficult to make political assessments. Your statements are very bold. There are political statements, practically. I don't think there's anything wrong with that. Take this assessment simply as my perception of the fact and its statement. I’m not saying something in context. Or what would it be? Isn't the process related to the fact that the Georgian government has pressure from the West, specifically from the United States - constant letters, a constant reminder that the American company is being harassed in Georgia. So did you have to? We know that, for example, the constitutional changes are because the government has somehow given us, the Georgian people, with the help of the West. Isn't Frontera the same story that they show Americans that they are ready to give up?
Zaza - I do not rule out that it is the result of this communication and this pressure that this step has been taken. It was as if some concessions had to be made. It was as if they wanted to consider some conditions. However, this is just a maneuver and another farce, the like of which we have seen many times in the past. And, the basis for this conclusion is that in the same statement they made yesterday, they continued the disinformation campaign, which has been going on for several months.
What you mean, specifically, is that you don’t meet the conditions, and so on. Do you mean that? What disinformation campaign are you referring to?
Because of the disinformation campaign that has been going on since the arbitral decision was published. It is because of this decision that the arbitral tribunal has not complied with their request to cancel the contract with us.
However, they say they have upheld the lawsuit. It is very interesting how the decision can be interpreted in such a way that the guilty verdict is satisfactory. Is such a thing possible at all? I do not know.
It is impossible. Such a thing does not happen, and especially at the level of arbitration of such a rank, when the decision on black and white is very clearly defined so that it leaves no room for speculation. But, nevertheless, they said ...
The Ministry of Economy reads that "the State Agency for oil and Gas Corporation has met the absolute majority of the interpretation of the contract norms and their claims." That's exactly what it's written about.
Can anyone draw any conclusions from this sentence? What does "interpretation of norms" mean? Arbitration ...
Looks like the oil and gas corporation interprets arbitral decision in its own way. It usually means that, doesn't it?
The Oil and Gas Corporation and the state, which was represented by the Ministry of Economy’s Oil and Gas Agency, had 14 claims against us. Of these 14 requests, 12 courts were not satisfied. Only 2 were satisfied. 1 of these 2 requirements is that the territories where we do not extract oil and gas should be returned to the state ...
(Apologies, this translation is a bit late as was due yesterday)
This was originally shown on TV Kavkasia, an opposition leaning channel
Pt.1
Journalist - In the first part of the show, we will talk about “Frontera”. A company that has become a very painful topic for the Georgian government, especially in terms of criticism from the American side about the government's crackdown on this company. In virtually every letter sent by the US Congressmen to the Georgian government, it is said that the Georgian government is harassing American interests and American business. For example, "Frontera" is always cited. Recently, more precisely yesterday, the Ministry of Economy announced that it is ready to resume negotiations with the company "Frontera", with which it intends to terminate the contract and find a compromise in order for the company to continue working in Georgia. How and in what form it is still unknown. In the first part of the program, Zaza Mamulaishvili, President of “Frontera”, will be our guest and we will talk about what happened after the announcement of the Ministry of Economy and whether any concrete steps have been taken to start these negotiations. Thank you Mr. Zaza for participating in the program. We know the official statement of the Ministry of Economy. The Deputy Minister of Economy said that they are ready to discuss the issues with your company and find such a compromise that it is possible to continue working on the mines owned by the company "Frontera" under certain conditions, of course, by receiving the appropriate guarantee from him. Did you have any specific, direct feedback from the Ministry of Economy? If you are planning a meeting or if you know what compromise can be talked about?
Zaza - Thank you so much for this opportunity. To be honest, we were a little surprised by such communication, especially when we were addressed in public about the meeting, and this was when we have signed the 1997 agreement with the state, we now have the exact terms and conditions for continuing to work on the fields that the Minister of Economy and his deputy referred to yesterday.
However, it has happened since you lost the dispute in the Arbitration Court, didn't you?
We have not lost the dispute
This is how it is interpreted. Let's talk about this as well, but before that what is the situation now? Did the Ministry of Economy contact you? Did they contact you directly?
We were addressed in public. We were directly contacted by the Deputy Minister last week that they wanted to make some commercial proposals, which ...
They wanted you to prepare the proposition?
No, they wanted to make a proposal for us, to which we agreed, of course, and said, “Yes, sir. As soon as you submit this proposal, we will be happy to meet you and discuss the details." But even after that, they did not submit a proposal, and to our surprise, they addressed us so publicly about the meeting yesterday