Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili has ruled out the imposition of economic sanctions against Russia, saying it runs counter to the country's national interests.

With this, Garibashvili responded to the opponents of the Georgian Dream government inside the country, as well as Western politicians who believe that Tbilisi's position on anti-Russian sanctions is not clear enough, Novosti-Georgia reports.

"The European Union pays Russia a billion dollars every day. Since the beginning of the war, $90 billion has gone into Russia as a result of the trade that Europe still has with Russia," the prime minister said at a government meeting.

According to him, after the sanctions are imposed, Georgia "will actually have to sever trade and economic relations with Russia," which will inevitably affect not only the 1 million Georgians living in Russia, but also up to 4 million residents of Georgia. "Don't we have our own national interests or don't we have people living here? Maybe the Georgian people want war again, oppression, loss of territories, our statehood?" the prime minister said.

Garibashvili promised to repeat these questions even more loudly in the future. He also added that he was waiting for a "fair decision" on granting Georgia EU candidate status.