Ukraine imposes sanctions on Georgian authorities - media

TBILISI. Dec 5 (Interfax) - Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky signed an executive order on Thursday to impose sanctions on 20 Georgian officials, Georgian media said, citing sources in Kiev.

The restrictions apply to Honorary Chairman of the Georgian Dream ruling party Bidzina Ivanishvili, Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, Tbilisi Mayor Kakha Kaladze, Interior Minister Vakhtan Gomelauri, and the Georgian prime minister's father Giorgi Kobakhidze who served as a Georgian parliament deputy speaker in the 1990s, among others.

Zelensky urged Western partners to impose sanctions on Georgian officials, saying, "No one in that region, neither Georgia, nor Moldova, nor Ukraine must be lost."

In turn, Kobakhidze commented on Georgia-Ukraine relations and said Georgia remained a unilateral friend of Ukraine.

"This country and its friendly people are very dear to us and, based on this, we remain loyal to Ukraine and its people, no matter what decision the Ukrainian leadership makes," Kobakhidze said, speaking of Ukrainian sanctions on the Georgian leadership.

The Ukrainian leadership hardly endorsed the sanctions on its own, he said.

"It looks like certain forces are trying to leave a hard legacy for the new U.S. administration in our region," Kobakhidze said.

The Baltic states sanctioned certain Georgian officials earlier, and the Georgian Foreign Ministry summoned their ambassadors for explanations.

On Wednesday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the Georgian authorities for violence towards protesters protesting against the suspended European integration process and threatened Tbilisi with stricter sanctions.