According to Irakli Kobakhidze, fuel was supplied to occupied Abkhazia by private business, not the government. He made this statement in response to a journalist's question during a briefing at the Government Administration.
According to media reports, amid a severe fuel crisis in occupied Abkhazia, energy resources entered the region from territory controlled by Georgia's central government.
Kobakhidze stated that the process was conducted in full compliance with Georgian legislation on occupied territories.
"In general, our current legislative framework, including the Law on Occupation, permits such actions. If any step of this kind was taken and will be taken, every such step will be within the framework of the Law on Occupation. If we can alleviate the situation for the population living in Abkhazia, we will do so—provided it is within the framework of the Law on Occupation," Kobakhidze stated.
He once again emphasized that state agencies did not send the fuel directly, and that the private sector was involved in the process. Kobakhidze did not elaborate further on the details.
"As for supplying the fuel, we did not deliver it; business delivered it. If we have the opportunity in the future as well to alleviate conditions for the population living there—whether Georgian or Abkhaz—we will do so in the future as well," Irakli Kobakhidze noted.
