GD Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze has defended the Georgian government’s stance in the Anaklia Port dispute, following the country’s legal victory in Washington arbitration against Mamuka Khazaradze and Badri Japaridze.
Speaking to journalists, Kobakhidze emphasized that “the state was entirely right” in its dealings with the Anaklia Development Consortium. “We created every condition for the project’s success – we even amended the Constitution to support it – but they failed to attract a single investor,” he said.
Instead of securing funding, Kobakhidze claimed, “they initiated legal action against the state and attempted to misappropriate public money.”
“A fair ruling was delivered. The arbitration tribunal reached a decision that fully reflects the reality,” Kobakhidze noted, stressing that it was the consortium’s failure that derailed a project of national importance.
“This was a logical outcome – they couldn’t find an investor, abandoned the project, and then tried to blame the state,” he concluded.
His statement follows a recent announcement by Georgia’s Ministry of Justice, which reported that Khazaradze and his former business partner, Badri Japaridze, have lost their legal battle over the Anaklia Port case in Washington arbitration.
According to the Ministry, the ICSID tribunal fully upheld the Georgian government’s position, confirming that the failure to implement the Anaklia Port project was solely the responsibility of Khazaradze, Japaridze, and their partners.
The Ministry also noted that Bob Meijer, a Dutch partner of Khazaradze and Japaridze, demanded USD 64 million in the arbitration but had his claims fully rejected. Instead, he was ordered to pay USD 6.5 million to the Georgian government.
