2023-05-10 14:57:13
Georgian Foreign Minister Ilya Darchiashvili said that the decision taken by Russian President Vladimir Putin to resume direct flights and abolish the visa regime between the two countries would “make life easier” for Georgian citizens. He indicated that such a decision should be welcomed by “any responsible government.”
“More than a million of our citizens live in the Russian Federation, who have very close ties with people, their relatives and relatives living in Georgia. And this decision, viewed from a humanitarian point of view, is welcomed by any responsible government. The decision will make life easier for our citizens, ”RIA Novosti quotes the words of Mr. Darchiashvili.
Ilya Darchiashvili emphasized that the decision of the President of Russia is independent. “This is a sovereign decision of the Russian leadership and any state independently decides for the citizens of which country to introduce a visa regime and for which citizens to remove it,” he added (quoted by Interfax).
Today, on May 10, Vladimir Putin lifted the ban on flights of Russian airlines and the sale of tours to Georgia, and also canceled the visa regime for Georgian citizens from May 15. The Ministry of Transport specified that Russian airlines will carry out seven direct flights weekly from Moscow to Tbilisi and back on domestically produced aircraft.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili called Vladimir Putin’s decision a provocation. In her opinion, Russia’s abolition of the visa regime for Georgians is unacceptable because of the situation in Ukraine. Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia Mariam Kvrivishvili said that Tbilisi has not yet received a request from the Russian side to allow direct flights. She indicated that following receiving permission, Georgia would allow direct flights only for those Russian airlines that were not subject to sanctions.
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