Russia's consumer protection agency announces "strengthening of control" over Georgian wine
Georgian alcoholic drinks will be subjected to "strengthened control" by Russia's consumer protection agency in a move that follows political protest in Tbilisi against the occupation of Georgia's regions by Russian troops. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.
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Russia's Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing has announced a "strengthening of control" over alcoholic drinks imported from Georgia, in a move reminiscent of a 2006 embargo on wine from the country.
Coming in the wake of political tensions in Georgia following an appearance of Russian Sate Duma MP in the Tbilisi parliament last week, the announcement of the Rospotrebnadzor agency was released on Monday.
In the announcement, the state organisation claimed it had traced a trend showing a worsening of quality of Georgian wine imported into Russia between 2014-2018.
The quantity of Georgian-produced alcoholic drinks that was identified as incompliant with mandatory requirements increased by 2.9 and amounted to 203 thousand litres in 2018 [...] all batches of the indicated products were prohibited from entering the territory of the Russian Federation," the consumer agency said.
The increased control over beverages entering Russia from Georgia would scrutinise "quality and safety" of the products, the announcement also read.
Russia banned wines from Georgia from entering the country's market in 2006, with Gennadiy Onishchenko, the Chief Sanitary Inspector of the state, citing "high amount of pesticides" in the products for the embargo.
The move hit the Georgian exports, with 2005 figures for wine sent to Russia halved after the ban, which was only lifted in 2013.
Georgian government began looking for alternative markets in the aftermath for its alcohol exports - a major element of Georgian external trade - following the incident.
The June 24 announcement follows protests in Tbilisi against Russian occupation of two of the country's regions following the 2008 war between the states.
The protests were sparked by an address to the Parliament of Georgia by Russian Duma MP Sergey Gavrilov, who headed the Russian delegation to the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy in the Georgian capital.
Gavrilov took the seat of the Georgian parliament speaker for his address, which sparked fury of opposition MPs and later thousands of citizens of the country on the backdrop of the ongoing occupation of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia) by Russian troops.
Russian officials called for boycott of Georgian resorts and trade goods in the wake of the protests - called "Russophobic" by Duma MPs - while president Putin suspended flights to Georgia starting July 8.
Over 12,000 Russian citizens have signed an online petition calling on Russian President Vladimir Putin to cancel his recent ban on flights between Russia and Georgia. "Allow flights between Georgia and Russia, as Russian citizens in Georgia are in safety. As for the protest rallies – this is the right of the Georgian citizens”, the text of the petition reads.
Russian president Vladimir Putin’s decision to ban flights to Georgia amid the protest rallies in Tbilisi following a Russian delegation’s recent visit to Georgia has caused even wider public solidarity among the local population against the Russian occupation.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has ordered a ban on flights to Georgia as part of Russian state reaction to protest in Tbilisi following a Duma MP's appearance in the Tbilisi parliament.
Russian officials on Friday called for boycott of tourism and trade relations with Georgia following what President Putin's administration called a "Russophobic provocation" in Tbilisi clashes the previous day.
The official Kremlin response decried the events as a "dangerous display", while the State Duma's Tourism Committee head called for boycott of Georgian tourist resorts and trade goods, among reactions.
Moscow believes that there is ‘Russophobic hysteria’ in Georgia and the resumption of Russia-Georgia direct flights, banned by the order of Russian President Vladimir Putin on June 21, is unlikely to take place until the attitude is changed, Russian President’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov says.
Ukraine's former president Petro Poroshenko has urged citizens of his country to travel to Georgian resorts and counter Russia's efforts to "weaken Georgia economically" following president Vladimir Putin's ban on flights to the country.
There is hardly any reason that would put the quality of Georgian wine production under the question mark, the National Wine Agency of Georgia responded to Russia’s recent warning on "strengthening control" over alcoholic drinks imported from Georgia.
“Georgia is a safe country for everyone, including Russian tourists”
“Georgia is one of the safest countries for tourism and for travellers from any country, including Russian tourists”, says the Economy Minister of Georgia Natia Turnava.
Russian MP Evgeni Primakov calls for a ‘freeze’ on Russia-Georgia relations after an anchor of TV channel Rustavi 2 Giorgi Gabunia used offensive language against Russian President Vladimir Putin. He wrote that Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili condemned the journalist’s behavior, “however, we have not yet heard an apology.”
The Russian Foreign Ministry has called insults against Russian President Vladimir Putin by Georgian TV anchor Giorgi Gabunia “unacceptable,” but said that the Georgian government and people have responded to the event “in the right way.”
The State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs has supported the idea of halting the import of wine and mineral waters from Georgia to the Russian Federation, as well as putting in place a ban on remittances from Russia, reports TASS.
TV anchor of Georgian TV channel Rustavi 2, who cursed Russian President Vladimir Putin on his live show yesterday, has been suspended for two months. Rustavi 2 reports that the broadcaster’s regulation body discussed Giorgi Gabunia’s words uttered in the beginning of his TV show ‘P.S.’ and suspended him for two months.
Experts of the Russian government organisation Russian Quality System (Roskachestvo) have evaluated more than 120 wines from 13 countries in the price category up to 1,000 rubles on the shelves of Russian stores and the worst results in the study were shown by Georgia.
At the request of local wine companies, independent international organisations will be involved in the process of testing Georgian export wines from the end of May, announces head of the National Wine Agency of Georgia Levan Mekhuzla.