The Kartuli Brief — 2026-09-07 | Sakartvelo Intelligence

საქართველო · ერთობა · ძალა · თავისუფლება

Sovereignty Threat Level

Elevated EU accession suspended · Protest cycle ongoing · Russian pressure steady

Lead

Black Sea Petroleum Says Kulevi Refinery Now Processes ‘Exclusively’ Non-Russian Feedstock

Black Sea Petroleum, a Georgian company operating the Kulevi Oil Refinery that was conditionally included in the EU’s Russia sanctions in July, said on September 1 that as of 23 August, the refinery “has been processing exclusively non-Russian feedstock.” The statement follows the company’s earlier pledge to stop processing Russian-origin crude, and the EU’s conditional sanct…

Sources: Civil.ge

Russia Watch

Friday, 4 September 2026

Regional * Armenian Security Council Secretary Alen Simonyan has not ruled out travelling to Azerbaijan. Speaking at a press briefing on Thursday, he said the possibility of a visit had been raised during a meeting in Dilijan between his predecessor, Armen Grigoryan, and Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s aide Hikmet Hajiyev earlier this year. Armenia * Judge Vahagn Melikyan, the third judge to …

OC Media

"A nation with a populace that is overwhelmingly pro-Western ruled by a government that has frozen that integration—the Sakartvelo Paradox defines the crisis."

— Sakartvelo Unveiled Analysis

GEL/USD

2.61

—

GEL/EUR

3.04

—

Mid. Corridor TEU

—

YoY

Tourism YTD

—

FDI

—

Protest Index

—

Active

Domestic Politics

Ivanishvili’s ex-ally reportedly sells Miami villa for record $51.5 million after prison release

Giorgi Bachiashvili spent months in prison on charges concerning financial dealings with Bidzina Ivanishvili.

OC Media

Western Response

Georgian-born actor says he was denied entry to Georgia on suspected political grounds

Beka Bediana (Bedianashvili) was sent back to Germany from Tbilisi International Airport.

OC Media

Economy

Baku claims ‘Western media’ is ‘conducting an organised disinformation campaign against Azerbaijan’

The statement referenced a recent post by Nexta which suggested an ammunition explosion in an Azerbaijani village was Russian sabotage.

OC Media

Regional Intelligence

Third judge in a row drops out of case against Armenian Catholicos Karekin II

Three judges have now dropped the case in less than a month.

OC Media

Armenian national sentenced in US for smuggling ‘controlled goods’ to Russia

Kamo Kirakosyan was initially charged in 2024 and pleaded guilty in 2026 after being extradited from Germany to the US.

OC Media

Assessment & Data

Sovereignty Indicators

EU Accession Status Frozen

NATO MAP Progress Stalled

Press Freedom (RSF) Declining

Foreign Agent Law Enacted

Civil Society Space Narrowing

Public EU Support ~80%

Week Ahead

European Parliament plenary to debate Georgia resolution on Wednesday. Georgian National Bank inflation data due Thursday. Opposition rally planned Saturday in Tbilisi's Freedom Square. Bidzina Ivanishvili expected to address GD party congress. OSCE monitoring mission report on media freedom scheduled for release.

Compiled from multiple sources