Vakhtang Iobashvili, head of the Union of Petroleum Products Importers, states that member companies of the business association have not supplied fuel to occupied Abkhazia. He made this statement in an interview with BM.GE.
"Believe me, 3,000 tons is a large volume, and a single company could not have managed this in one go. Plus, imagine—a ship is required, chartering a vessel, and all of this costs a lot of money. That is why we have always maintained that importing fuel by rail is far more logical and far more normal—meaning it is cheaper than bringing it in by sea.
Of course, everyone is surprised. No one is going to admit to it—even if someone did, why would they disclose it to me? But that is not the case. Delivering gasoline or fuel happens at designated facilities. There must be a terminal, a port, and so on there..." stated Vakhtang Iobashvili.
In his view, the fuel delivery was carried out by sea, as supplying a volume of this scale through other means would have been impossible.
"Simply delivering 3,000 tons in such a manner is out of the question. 3,000 tons is a substantial amount, and in my opinion, it was likely delivered by sea, because delivering 3,000 tons otherwise is impossible. The notion that some carriers crossed rivers—all of that is impossible," Iobashvili said.
On August 12, it was disclosed that amid a severe fuel crisis in occupied Abkhazia, fuel entered the region from territory controlled by Georgia's central government. This fact was confirmed by Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze, who stated that fuel was delivered to occupied Abkhazia by private business, not the government. Today, an MP from "Georgian Dream" stated that private business had sent 3,000 tons of fuel to
