Russia and Georgia are on the verge of resuming direct flights, Leonid Kalashnikov, head of the State Duma Committee on CIS Affairs, Eurasian Integration and Relations with Compatriots, said on March 22 during the economic forum “Prospects for the development of economic relations between Russia and Georgia.”
“I spoke with many officials of the highest level, including on the issues that we touched upon. Very sensitive issues that we need to resolve are air travel and the abolition of visas in Russia. I must say that we are on the verge of these decisions,”
– TASS quotes Kalashnikov.
When these decisions will take place, he could not specify.
EADaily reported that on June 20, 2019, several thousand people staged an anti-Russian rally in Tbilisi near the parliament building. The reason for the Russophobic action was the participation of State Duma deputy Sergei Gavrilov in the work of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy, which was organized by the host within the walls of the Georgian parliament. After that, Russia decided to temporarily ban air travel to Georgia. The Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation also suspended flights of Georgian airlines to Russia.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on January 18, during a press conference following the results of 2022, allowed the resumption of flights due to developing relations with Georgia. The country’s authorities also stated that it was in the interests of the Georgian people. President Salome Zurabishvili and the country’s Western partners spoke out against it. In February, the EU called on the Georgian authorities not to resume flights with Russia, recalling, among other things, the threat of secondary sanctions for those who help Russia bypass them.
Source: eadaily
