Georgia has prevented "smuggling" in favor of Turkey and Azerbaijan for Russia.
07-08-2026 18:30 Politics
1in.am On August 6, the Baku Report website wrote that the Azerbaijani embassy in Tbilisi had "delivered a note of protest" to the Georgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Accordingly, Azerbaijan has "demanded explanations as to why Azerbaijani freight carriers have been waiting for days at the 'Sarpi' and 'Red Bridge' border checkpoints for document processing and often receive refusals."
On August 7, the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia announced that Georgian customs officials had "prevented the transportation of goods subject to European sanctions from Turkey to Russia, which was attempted by an Azerbaijani freight carrier."
According to an official statement relayed by the Georgian online media apsny.ge, the incident occurred at the "Sarpi" checkpoint on the border with Turkey on "July 24 of this year." The inspection revealed that the truck operated by an Azerbaijani citizen was "transporting goods produced in the European Union from Turkey to Russia."
Taking into account the sanctions imposed by the European Union against Russia, Georgian customs officials "sent the truck back to Turkish territory." A few hours later, the same truck attempted to cross the Georgian customs border again, presenting "a new certificate stating that the goods were allegedly produced in Turkey." However, upon inspection, it was found that the goods had factory markings revealing the producing countries as Germany and Croatia.
Although the Georgian authorities did not directly link this incident to the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry's note of protest, it is evident that the inspections of Azerbaijani freight carriers at the Georgian border are related to preventing the supply of sanctioned goods from Turkey to Russia. Official Tbilisi did not specify what particular goods produced in Germany and Croatia were being attempted to be transported from Turkey to Russia. It can be assumed that they either had military significance or at least dual-use potential.
Georgia has essentially revealed that Turkey and Azerbaijan attempted to use its territory to allow Russia to receive European-produced goods, circumventing EU sanctions. It is noteworthy that the Georgian government has disseminated information about Turkish-Azerbaijani "smuggling" ahead of the 18th anniversary of the Russo-Georgian war, when the opposition accuses the "Georgian Dream" of "secret cooperation with Georgia's number one enemy, Russia."
* This text was automatically translated by Artificial Intelligence (AI).
