On October 8th, 2022, while visiting the pro-Russian propaganda media “Alt-Info,” Dimitri Lortkipanidze, the head of the Primakov Georgian-Russian Public Center, claimed that the “secret clauses” of the Association Agreement with the European Union oblige Georgia, as well as Ukraine, to sell land to foreigners. Lortkipanidze asserted that before the presidency of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the West could not make other governments of Ukraine sell land to foreigners; however, since 2019, millions of hectares of land have been sold in Ukraine.
The claims of Dimitri Lortkipanidze regarding the sale of land are false: 1) the Association Agreement does not entail obligations related to the sale of land neither for Georgia nor Ukraine; There are different regulations regarding the alienation of land in different EU member states. 2) In Ukraine, the sale of agricultural land to foreign citizens and companies is prohibited, and in 2019, Zelenskyy’s reform concerned the disposal of Ukrainians’ own land, not alienation.
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The Association Agreement does not entail obligations related to the sale of land neither for Georgia nor Ukraine
The Association Agreement with the European Union (1,2) does not include any “secret clauses” that impose conditions related to the alienation of land to foreigners. Notably, the Association Agreements include a number of conditions related to the purchase of agricultural land by citizens of foreign countries in different EU member states. For example, in Bulgaria and Slovakia, foreign citizens are prohibited from buying agricultural land; Only those citizens of a foreign country who have permanent residence status can buy agricultural land in the Czech Republic; Buying land in Ireland requires a special permit, etc. Therefore, the legislation related to land ownership differs among EU member states. Issues related to the purchase and sale of agricultural land in Georgia are regulated by the Organic Law Of Georgia On Agricultural Land Ownership, adopted in 2019. In Ukraine, legislative changes regarding the circulation of agricultural land were carried out in 2020.
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In Ukraine, the sale of agricultural land to foreign citizens and companies is prohibited, and in 2019, Zelenskyy’s reform concerned the disposal of Ukrainians’ own land, not alienation.
Foreign citizens and companies are not permitted to buy agricultural land in Ukraine. It should be noted that from 1992 to 2020, there was a moratorium on the purchase and sale of land in Ukraine, and even citizens of Ukraine could not trade land. The idea of carrying out land reforms was put forward by Volodymyr Zelenskyy in 2019, although the President of Ukraine made clear from the beginning that citizens of foreign countries would not be allowed to purchase land after the amendments to the law. Zelenskyy noted that it was important for Ukrainian citizens to have the full right to dispose of agricultural land at their discretion and to be able to buy and sell land freely.
Changes related to agricultural land ownership were introduced in 2020, and citizens were given the right to trade land. According to the new legislation, the following have the right to own agricultural land in Ukraine: citizens of Ukraine, legal entities registered under Ukrainian legislation, which are also citizens of Ukraine; territorial communities, and the state. In addition, until 2024, Ukrainian citizens can only purchase 100 hectares of land. Also, until 2024, legal entities do not have the right to purchase agricultural land owned by a natural person. It is emphasized in the law that foreigners, stateless persons and legal entities are prohibited from purchasing shares in the authorized capital, as well as membership of legal entities owning agricultural land. The issue of granting the right to buy agricultural land in Ukraine to foreign citizens and companies should be decided by a referendum. It should also be noted that regardless of the results of the referendum, foreigners will not be able to purchase plots of land less than 50 kilometres from the border of Ukraine. According to the existing legislation, the purchase of non-agricultural land for foreigners is allowed only if real estate (e.g., a house) is located on this land and the land belongs to an urban settlement.
Lortkipanidze makes a false claim that since 2019, millions of hectares of land have been sold in Ukraine. The agricultural market in Ukraine opened on July 1st, 2021. According to the data of the State Service of Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre of Ukraine, 287,144 hectares of land have been alienated since this period. (Data is updated weekly).
Disinformation regarding the sale of agricultural land to foreigners has been disseminated in the past as well. For details, see the articles by “Myth Detector:”
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