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Posted Looed on the 30th July :-

Pt.2
Economy Minister Natia Turnava said that the Congressmen are likely to find themselves in an awkward situation.

Georgian Economy Minister Natia Turnava said that ‘any attempts to harm US-Georgia relations will be useless,’ and that the ‘Congressmen will find themselves in an awkward situation as they have biased information’ on the American company Frontera.

In April 2020, the government of Georgia announced that the International Arbitration Tribunal had upheld the vast majority of claims filed by the Georgian government against the US oil and gas firm Frontera Resources.

Georgia had accused the company of violating the terms of their contract signed in 1997, claiming Frontera has refused to return to the state land they are no longer using for exploration.

Last week the Georgian government decided not to terminate its contract with Frontera Resources Georgia Corporation despite winning the case and to allow the company to continue operating in part of the original contract area.

Frontera calls on Georgian PM to stop 'illegal termination of our contract'

Speaking about the reasons Turnava said that relations with the United States, 'which is the main strategic partner of our country, is a fundamental issue for us'.

https://agenda.ge/en/news/2020/2409

Posted Looed on the 30th July :-

Georgian PM responds to US Senators - and they still won the Arbitration
Pt.1

Georgian PM on Congressmen’s letter: US political spectrum is diverse, reality is that US-Georgia relations are at an all-time high

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has responded to a recent letter sent by six American Congressmen to US State Secretary Mike Pomapeo in which they express concern ‘with the recent decline in democratic governance and potential corruption in Georgia.’

In the letter the Congressmen Jodey Arrington, Bill Flores, Will Hurd, Brian Babin, Randy Weber and Markwayne Mullin said that the ‘current government of Georgia led by the Georgian Dream party is being manipulated by Russian oligarch, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is making efforts to drive out U.S. businesses that have been contributing to the American and Georgian economy for decades’.

The United National Movement opposition party MP Salome Samadashvili has released the letter on Facebook.

Georgian Prime Minister Giorgi Gakharia has responded that ‘some Congressmen will praise us, some will criticise us. However, the objective reality is that the US-Georgia strategic partnership faces no threats, as well as American businesses in Georgia. US-Georgia relations are at an all-time high.'

Gakharia stated that the American political spectrum is very diverse. However, statements being made by top US state officials point at ‘close strategic partnership and wish to further strengthen relations in many directions, including for business and investments.’

Yesterday I received a letter from American Congressman Joe Wilson, an excellent letter which praised Georgia’s democratic progress. I have had a very positive and future-oriented phone conversation with US State Secretary Mike Pompeo. The conversation underlined how valuable the strategic partnership is for both sides. It is the objective reality,” Gakharia said.
He stated that some people and political forces are trying to offer ‘a biased reality, to help their own narrow, political interests.’

Through presenting a biased reality the parties are damaging the state interests, not a separate political force. It is in the interests of the country, not the ruling party’s interests alone, to have a close strategic partnership with the US. It is in the country’s interests as our territories are occupied and without the support of our allies we will not be unable to settle the issue peacefully,” Gakharia said.

Speaking about the US company Frontera , Gakharia said that Georgia won a case against the company in International Arbitration Tribunal as the company violated terms of the contract.

When some people, including Americans, fail to meet their obligations and Georgia wins the case in International Arbitration Tribunal, we should be happy about the country's victory," Gakharia said.

Economy Minister Natia Turnava said that the Congressmen are likely to find themselves in an awkw

Posted Looed on the 30th July :-

Pt.2
And, as soon as we get all the consent, then we will be able to officially, in writing, confirm to the state that we also agree to make it public. Before that, we are now saying that together we can do it today or tomorrow.
J1 - I would like to talk about a few more issues - Content of recent statements when the state said it would not suspend the contract and the area, which is about 0.84%, on which Frontera can continue to operate. After that you received some letter. What type of message was this letter telling us? What legal force did it have? In what form did you receive it from the state? Is the corporation lying to us about it?

Zaza - If you want I will tell you directly, yes, you are being lied by the corporation and the Ministry of Economy and the government. After the Prime Minister made a public statement last Thursday that the government was no longer going to terminate the agreement with us, two things happened the very next day: Firstly, The Foreign Ministry, through the embassy, immediately began disseminating this information to political circles in Washington. And, at the same time, the Ministry of Economy sent us an official message telling us that they had temporarily suspended the procedure for cancellation and termination of the contract, which means that if they had been writing to us earlier that we would terminate the contract illegally on the 27th, now it is unclear. It could be stopped on the 29th, or it could be on the 5th of August, or just in 3 months.

J1 - Were there any conditions in this message? If we say that "Frontera" will not fulfill its promise, in this case it will be stopped. In what form was it? Were there any conditions in this message that you received from the Ministry of Economy?

Zaza - Nothing was set out in this message except that we were told that the contract termination procedure was only temporarily terminated. This is also illegal because they have no legal right to do so.

J1 - What type of investment did the state prevent „Frontera“ from making? What were the issues that prevented „Frontera“ from acting as a result of the government's actions? Do you have specific numbers, what amount of investment you wanted to make and failed to do it? And what specific returns did you think you could have got from the investment?

Zaza - Of course, in practice, after 2013, when the interference in our activities became very intense, we could not drill as many wells as we had planned, we could not carry out our operations and we could not make the investments of the scale we thought we would. For example, last year we thought of forming a consortium with two large American companies and launching a multi-billion dollar development program in the Kakheti region of eastern Georgia.

Posted Looed on the 30th July :-

Translation #24 Business Media Georgia with Zaza, 28/07, 8m11s
(We should have received #25 first, I am checking when we will get #25 and let you know)

Pt.1

J1 - American energy company "Frontera" publishes another statement. The company said in a statement that a few days ago, when the Georgian government announced that it would not suspend its contract with the company, the company was informed that the government would again try to suspend the contract with the it. Zaza Mamulaishvili, President of “Frontera Resources Corporation” joins us live. Mr. Zaza, welcome. Thanks for your time.

Zaza - Greetings

J1 - Mr. Zaza, the recent controversy between Frontera and the state, between the Gas and Oil Corporation, is in the mode of statements. There is literally no dialogue between these two sides. It may also be difficult for the public to draw conclusions because, for example, the Gas and Oil Corporation urges you to make the arbitral decision public. Why not make this arbitral decision public?

Zaza - You mentioned that very well. The Georgian government has chosen a special form of relationship with us, especially since we have been working in Georgia for 23 years and today our company is the largest American investor in Georgia. However, since such a form was chosen by the government to communicate with us, we also respond accordingly. As for the publicity of the arbitral decision, we certainly are not and have not been against this publicity. Even now I can call on the representatives of the state from this broadcast that if you want today, you want to meet tomorrow and publicly announce the decision of the arbitration, which is very clear and it is not necessary to be a lawyer to fully understand the content of this decision.

J1 - Mr. Zaza, we need the consent of both parties, in this case, when we had a conversation, for example, with the other party, we were told that we need the consent of Frontera to make the decision public. The latest statement, by the way, said that the silence on the part of the company could be seen as a sign of consent. That is, you agree to make this decision public.

Zaza - This is a very interesting legal formulation that our silence can be seen as a sign of consent and then made public. This is a vague wording and I can not comment on it seriously. But as for our formal consent, as we have said many times before, I would like to reiterate now - we are not against the announcement of this decision, but it must be done after the relevant legal procedures. And, what I mean by that - a decision contains a lot of technical, commercial, financial and personal information that may not be desirable for other parties to disclose. We legally agree with all stakeholders on this and probably this process will still take probably 10 days or 2 weeks.

Posted by Blownitalready on the 30th July :-

"This is another bad page in the history of our country, when the court is very openly fulfilling its political order," said Elene Khoshtaria, one of the leaders of European Georgia, regarding the detention of Giorgi Rurua.

As he noted, the ruling was politically motivated verdict output "will have to pay a great price."

"Those who watched the trial were arguing in every trial exactly the opposite of what the verdict was today. It was argued that Giorgi Rurua was indeed planted with a weapon, indeed there was a special operation on the political mark of his persecution. Understandably, this is not a legal process. This is exactly what needs to end in our country. It does not matter who sits in the place of this victim today. There is no court in this country and Giorgi Rurua is a political prisoner. "Giorgi Rurua will definitely come out, and the Georgian Dream will pay a great price," Khoshtaria said

https://formulanews.ge/News/34336

Salome Samadashvili, a member of the United National Movement, responds to Giorgi Rurua's 4-year prison sentence and assesses the judge's decision as an insult to the country.

As Samadashvili told "Formula", the judiciary in the country has lost its independence and this institution fulfills the personal tasks of the leader of the ruling party, Bidzina Ivanishvili.

"It is an insult to the state. It is an insult to any citizen, regardless of political views. We simply do not have a court in the country. There is such an expression - a kangaroo court, which is used in failed states. This is how Georgia was formed in Ivanishvili's hands," Samadashvili said.

According to him, the rule of "Georgian Dream" should end in October.

"In a country where there is no independent judiciary, a written instruction is sent to a judge, a man is falsified and a weapon is planted - this reality must be changed by elections at the end of October. Living in such a state is dangerous for any citizen - this is a reality," he said.

https://formulanews.ge/News/34335

Posted by Blownitalready on the 30th July :-

Anaklia Development Consortium and major foreign investor are suing Georgia
Anaklia Development Consortium and major foreign investor are suing Georgia. The lawsuits relate to the compensation of significant damage to the consortium as a result of the government campaign during the implementation of the Anaklia Port project .

Anaklia Development Consortium and Mr. Bob Meyer, one of ADC's investors, filed independent arbitration claims against Georgia on July 29 over their infringed rights in the Anaklia Port project. With these two lawsuits, ADC and Mr. Bob Meyer are seeking redress for their violated rights in the project. "The amount of this claim is large, exceeding $ 1 billion, and consists of the loss of ADC and Mr. Meyer , which is a direct result of the Georgian government's campaign to undermine the Anaklia port project," the statement said.

According to the Anaklia Consortium, the Georgian government was conducting a covert campaign against the Anaklia Consortium to prevent the Anaklia project from being implemented. As we read in the statement, government officials have repeatedly criticized the project and its shareholders in both public and private meetings. Potential investors and funders were even told that the government did not want to participate in their project, which was a clear confirmation to US government officials that the project did not have the support of the Georgian government.

The Anaklia Consortium statement also called for an investigation into Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze, alleging money laundering charges aimed at warning investors and financiers to refrain from supporting the project.

According to the Anaklia Consortium, as a result of the government's attack on ADC , its investors and the project, the government may violate one of the terms of the US government's assistance to Georgia, under which 15% of aid will be suspended until the US government The Secretary does not confirm that the Government of Georgia, in accordance with the law, “protects the interests of foreign business and that they can conduct business in Georgia without any coercion and can also fully benefit from all commercial and financial benefits as a result of investments in Georgia. The consequences of these circumstances are the sole responsibility of the current government and the Georgian Dream. "

https://formulanews.ge/News/34333

Posted by Blownitalready on the 30th July :-

Salome Samadashvili, a member of the United National Movement, responds to a letter sent by the US Congressmen to the State Department, saying that it is in the strategic interest of the West to visit Bidzina Ivanishvili's government through fair elections.

According to Samadashvili, Bidzina Ivanishvili's government is strengthening the interests of Russia and China in the region.

"We saw that once again, several members of Congress addressed the State Department together. It is a direct act against the strategic interests of the United States by the government manipulated by the Russian oligarch. This is a message from the strategic allies of our country that we need to change the political system in the country, we need the overthrow of Bidzina Ivanishvili's oligarchic regime through elections in October. We have heard in Washington that Bidzina Ivanishvili's government is undermining US strategic interests in the region - including preventing US investors from pursuing significant geostrategic projects and strengthening Russian and Chinese influence in the region. "It is also in the strategic interests of the West to visit Bidzina Ivanishvili's government through fair elections," Samadashvili said.

https://formulanews.ge/News/34330

Elene Khoshtaria, a member of European Georgia, praised the letter sent by the congressmen to the State Department and said that Russia's oligarch, political persecution and similar words towards Georgia have already become a common feature in the international community.

According to Khoshtaria, the population should change the government through elections.

"It is unfortunate that Georgia has recently exposed itself to the Russian oligarch, lawlessness, political persecution, damage to democracy, etc. These are words that have already become commonplace in international consumption. This is said sometimes by senators, sometimes by MEPs, sometimes by congressmen, this is a given reality and it harms the country. "If we do not want to live in a country called the Russian oligarchy, then there are elections where we can elect a more balanced government and renounce oligarchy, political persecution, etc.," Khoshtaria said.

https://formulanews.ge/News/34332

Posted by Blownitalready on the 29th July :-

Part 2
The letter is signed by Congressmen: Jodi Arrington, Marquin Mullin, Bill Flores, Will Hardy, Brian Babin and Randy Weber.

oligarchic influences in Georgia
In an interview with VOA , Michael Carpenter , Managing Director and former Deputy Secretary of Defense at the Penn Biden Center, talks about the oligarchic influences in Georgia.

He said it was logical that American taxpayers' money should be explicitly allocated to countries that are "moving in the right direction". However, Carpenter notes that some judges' decisions look politicized .

"We have seen some disturbing trends, and members of the Congress is seen as - all the others. I would not say that the opposition parties or the business interests of lobbyists activity of related. I think we can see behind the scenes oligarchic effect on the economy. We see some of the judge's decision, which is expected to garedanaa dictated And politicized looks . We also see sometimes overly harsh responses to civil protests," Carpenter said.

He notes that the 15% cut in US aid is a matter of concern, but does not mean that lawmakers are pessimistic about Georgia.

"I think, overall, if the supporters of the group members and other congressmen survey , most of them are still in a democratic society. They have optimism that the elections are free and fair. I hope that the country will go forward in this difficult time to Russia and its aggressive actions Related challenges, such as a coronavirus pandemic or an economic recession, ”Carpenter said.

According to him, the long-standing strategic partnership between the United States and Georgia is based on common values, Georgia has received significant assistance over the years precisely because it has shown hope and is constantly moving forward in the development of democracy.

"We want to see it continue. If that happens, the relationship will continue to flourish. I hope we can deepen the partnership, especially economically, where we still have a long way to go," Carpenter said . said. The current wording will be preserved in the document that has become law.

According to him, monitoring of the country in terms of judicial reform, media freedom and economic transparency will continue.

"We need to see that the issues that civil society or the opposition are concerned about are perceived and there are efforts and reforms to address them," Carpenter said.

https://formulanews.ge/News/34297

Posted by Blownitalready on the 29th July :-

6 Congressmen from the US House of Representatives write a letter to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, in which Bidzina Ivanishvili is referred to as a "Russian oligarch".

The congressmen write to the Secretary of State that the Georgian Dream government, led by Bidzina Ivanishvili, is deliberately expelling American businesses from the Georgian private sector and giving way to Russian, Chinese and Iranian companies.

In the letter, the congressmen talk about the deteriorating situation in the direction of democratic and economic reforms and offer the Secretary of State an agreement to take countermeasures to raise the issue of Georgia's accountability.

"We are writing to reiterate our concern about the deterioration of democratic governance and alleged corruption in Georgia," the congressmen wrote to Pompeo.

In the letter, the congressmen noted that Georgia had made a number of important leaps since economic independence in terms of economic transformation, geopolitical security, and market access, but said that progress in these areas had stalled since the Georgian Dream came to power.

"After Russian oligarch Bidzina Ivanishvili and his party Georgian Dream came to power in 2012, progress in these areas has stopped. After talking to your colleagues, Sheryl Fernandez and Aaron Rupert, we are convinced that the State Department is doing its utmost to monitor the deteriorating investment climate in the private sector, especially for American companies, as well as the Georgian government's commitment to continuing democratic reforms and NATO.

During the subsequent meetings with the Georgian authorities, especially with Prime Minister Gakharia, please note our concern:

1) The government of the Georgian Dream is run by a Russian oligarch, Bidzina Ivanishvili, who is trying to oust American businesses that have made a positive contribution to the Georgian and American economies for decades. All this is done in favor of increasing Russian, Chinese and Iranian investments in the private sector.

2) Ongoing actions against the Black Sea port in Georgia harm vital US national security interests, including:

A) Deliberate expulsion of American companies from investments / ownership of the Black Sea port, aimed at freeing Georgia from the influence of China and Russia.

B) The lack of enforcement of US sanctions against Iran and Russia, especially in relation to port affairs and other investments in the private sector.

3) The fact that the Parliament of Georgia has not yet adopted the necessary electoral reform, which is vital for the forthcoming 2020 elections to be free and fair.

We appreciate your attention to this timely issue and urge you and your team to discuss with us what steps can be taken to strengthen our relationship and raise the issue of Georgia's accountability. "

The letter is signed by Congressmen: Jodi Arrington, Marquin Mullin, Bill Flores, Will Hardy, Br

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