(Reuters) – Georgia will likely lose between $1.0 billion and $1.2 billion of economic output due to Russia’s military intervention Ukraine. It also falls short of its 6% target for growth, according to the head of Parliament’s Finance and Budget Committee.

Irakli Kovzanadze, Russia’s main trading partner, stated to TV Pirveli that Ukraine and Russia are his top two choices. According to Russia’s TASS news agency. Russia is the second-ranked country, while Ukraine takes fifth and sixth.

According to him, the Ukrainian crisis will not only affect exports, but also tourist income and foreign remittances.

Kovzanadze stated that he believes Georgia will experience a loss of $1 to 1.2 billion.

He said that although growth is unlikely to be below 6%, there will not be any problems in implementing the budget.

According to preliminary data, Georgia’s Gross Domestic Product grew 10.6% in 2021 after it had recovered from the impact of the coronavirus Pandemic which saw Georgia suffer a 6.2% decline in 2020.

According to the International Monetary Fund, Georgia’s GDP was estimated at $18 billion by 2021 in U.S. dollars.

Russia deployed tens to thousands of troops in Ukraine as part of a “special operation” it described. It was meant to weaken its south neighbour’s military capability and expel dangerous nationalists.

To force Russia to withdraw its forces and to further restrict Russia’s financial resources, the West has put severe sanctions on Russia. But this conflict threatens Ukraine’s economic health.