Armenian Security Chief Sacked Ազատություն Ռադիոկայան
Day: June 18, 2025
On June 18, the Monetary Policy Committee of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) decided to keep the key refinancing rate unchanged at 8%.
The NBG noted that in May, annual inflation stood at 3.5%, close to the 3% target, and core inflation – which excludes food, energy, and tobacco, typically subject to high price volatility – declined to 2%.
“Long-term inflation expectations remain stable,” the NBG noted. It said upward inflation pressure is primarily driven by food prices, “partly reflecting developments in global food markets.” The National Bank emphasized that this is counterbalanced by deflation in imported goods, mainly due to lower fuel prices. The NBG projects inflation to be “temporarily” above target, averaging 3.8% in 2025.
“Alongside stable inflation, economic activity remains robust,” the National Bank further said, noting that Georgia’s average economic growth for the first quarter of 2025 stood at 8.8%.
“Global economic uncertainty remains elevated amid geopolitical tensions and ongoing trade barriers,” the NBG added, noting that inflation is subject to “considerable risks.” It cited, on the one hand, a surge in oil prices due to military actions in the Middle East, and, concurrently, that “risks of economic fragmentation at the international level have intensified.” These factors, the NBG argued, “raise concerns over the deterioration of supply chains and the emergence of a globally inflationary environment.” In the case of high inflation, the NBG says it will set a higher interest rate.
In a lower inflation risk scenario, the NBG says it considers the weakened U.S. dollar index amid ongoing uncertainty. It also notes a “moderate decline” in international food commodity prices.
“Upcoming decisions on the monetary policy rate will depend on updated macroeconomic forecast scenarios and risk assessments,” the NBG concluded, adding that the next meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee is scheduled for July 30, 2025.
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Three opposition politicians, including Giorgi Gakharia, Mamuka Khazaradze, and Nika Gvaramia, have been re-summoned by the Georgian Dream parliament’s temporary investigative commission, formally tasked with probing alleged crimes committed by former United National Movement officials and others.
Gakharia, ex-Georgian Dream Prime Minister, who, unlike other opposition leaders, testified at the commission in April, was summoned again after Georgian Prosecutors started probing him over posting a police checkpoint near the occupation line in 2019, when he was the interior minister.
Nika Gvaramia, currently in pretrial detention for refusing to pay bail after boycotting the commission, received a second summons while in custody, his party Ahali reported on June 17. The letter sent to Gvaramia says he can testify online.
Mamuka Khazaradze, leader of the Lelo for Georgia party, who also boycotted the commission but walks free after posting bail, also said he received a repeated summons.
Khazaradze and Gvaramia, both re-summoned to appear on June 30 over what the Commission describes as “actions taken to the detriment of Georgia’s foreign policy goals in 2012–2025,” said they won’t be going. Gakharia is yet to announce his decision.
Non-compliance with Parliament’s temporary investigative commission is a criminal offense, which can be punished by up to one year in prison or a fine, with a three-year ban from holding public office. Criminal cases for defying the GD commission are ongoing against those who boycotted the commission, refusing to grant legitimacy to Georgian Dream’s one-party parliament.
Three opposition politicians – Nika Gvaramia, Zurab Japaridze, and Nika Melia were sent to pre-trial detention over refusing to post bail, while Giorgi Vashadze of Strategy Agmashenebeli, as well as Lelo’s Badri Japaridze and Mamuka Khazaradze, await their rulings after bailing themselves out. Ex-Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili was also remanded in custody over the boycott.
Final verdicts for Vashadze and Japaridze are expected to be announced in the coming days. The cases are widely considered to be politically motivated.
The GD commission, chaired by Tea Tsulukiani, is addressing topics including alleged torture, business racketeering, and the August 2008 war, which it blames on the former UNM government and ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili.
Georgian Dream says the commission’s final report will be submitted to the country’s Constitutional Court to ban the UNM and its “successor parties.” The party has said it plans to ban the opposition by the end of the year.
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Over 500 Belarusian products are currently being presented in the Azerbaijani market, Azernews reports, citing Dmitry Pinevich, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Belarus to Azerbaijan, as he said during a business meeting between representatives of the Belarusian state concern “Bellegprom” and members of Azerbaijan’s business community.
Melik Azaryants House. By Tatia Gvineria. #Architecture in #Tbilisi #ReisenInGeorgien https://t.co/3AZl4AqDEg
— Notes from Georgia/South Caucasus (Hälbig, Ralph) (@SouthCaucasus) June 18, 2025