Georgia has stopped opening re—exports for citizens of Russia and Belarus - mass media

Georgia has stopped opening re-exports of prohibited goods, special equipment and cars for citizens of Russia and Belarus, Ossetian News reported on May 15.

According to the publication, after Georgian media published information that "Russia receives banned Western construction equipment through Georgia, using transit through third countries to circumvent sanctions, the Georgian government blocked this loophole."

"From today, the import of prohibited goods and cars will require re-export to a citizen of Kazakhstan or Kyrgyzstan. According to our information, this decision was made so that Georgia itself would not fall under US sanctions and The European Union," the report says.

The day before, the Georgian edition of iFact stated that "Russia has established deliveries of Western construction equipment through Georgia."

"Russia continues to bypass sanctions and receive heavy foreign construction equipment through Georgia — bulldozers, excavators, graders, tractors, cranes and trucks. The country itself does not produce construction and heavy machinery, but, as the investigation showed, deliveries through it are made from Western countries," the publication says.

iFact studied data from the Volza, ImportGenius and ComtradePlus trading platforms, as well as statistics from Georgia, Armenia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan. According to the publication, from 2022 to April 2025 from Georgia exported 2,403 units of heavy equipment to Armenia, Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries. Examples of equipment supplied through Georgia are given — New Holland from Italy, Klaas from Germany, Kajik and Case from the USA. It is noted that three years before SMO, from 2019 to 2021, there were only about a thousand such machines.

The equipment is formally exported from Georgia to third countries, but does not enter there, but turns out to be in Russia, Georgian journalists claim. According to Geostat, from 2022 to March 2025 to Armenia from Georgia allegedly sent 1,245 units of heavy equipment, including 339 tractors and 820 excavators and bulldozers. However, according to the statistics of Armenia itself, there were no such deliveries. At the same time, the trade in heavy equipment between Armenia and Russia has grown: in 2023, volumes increased by 274,400% compared to 2021, and by 6,500% in 2024. The situation is similar with supplies to Kyrgyzstan. In 2024, according to Georgian statistics, 63 units of equipment were exported there. But the Kyrgyz side confirms the receipt of only six, iFact says.