Georgian wine agency responds to Russia's warning on 'stregnthening control'

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.

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 Russian Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Wellbeing was released earlier on Monday.

However, the National Wine Agency of Georgia said along with increasing wine export, its quality has also improved in recent years.

The agency said quality control is one of their key priorities and several million bottles of Georgian wine are in full line with all the necessary standards.

• Russia's consumer protection agency announces "strengthening of control" over Georgian wine

Russia's June 24 announcement follows protests in Tbilisi against Russian occupation of two Georgian regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali (South Ossetia).

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 of Tbilisi.

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 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.