Russia’s flight ban to and from Georgia starts today

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.

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.

Elizabeth Rood, the United States Charge d’Affairs to Georgia said the measures that the Russian Federation has imposed against Georgia in recent days, such as banning flights or discouraging Russian tourists from visiting the country, are “unwarranted, unnecessary and disproportional”.

All foreign visitors arriving in or leaving Georgia will receive a bottle of Georgian wine as a gift, announces the Georgian National Tourism Administration.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gregory Karasin says that the Russian government was ready to abolish visa requirements for Georgia. However, the protests in Tbilisi, which were sparked by the presence of Russian MPs in the Georgian parliament, postponed the possibility, he said. 

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.

The government of Georgia is seeking to soften the impact of the Russian flight ban that started on July 8 by giving a helping hand to the tourism industry and hospitality sector of the country.

The Russian State Duma adopted a statement at a plenary session today, urging the government of Russia to impose tough economic sanctions on Georgia and halt the import of wine and mineral waters from Georgia to the Russian Federation and put in place a ban on remittances from Russia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he did not support a parliamentary call to impose tough economic sanctions on Georgia. Earlier today, the Russian parliament unanimously backed a resolution urging the government to draw up sanctions against Georgia, which included halting the import of wine and mineral waters from Georgia to the Russian Federation and putting in place a ban on remittances from Russia.

Acting US Ambassador to Georgia Elizabeth Rood says that Georgia is a safe country and Russia should remove the ban on direct flights to Georgia, which came into force on July 8.

Russian citizens have held a rally in front of the Georgian parliament building today, saying that Georgians’ anti-occupation protests are justified and that they do not share the attitude of the Kremlin on many issues regarding Georgia.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that the ban on direct flights to Georgia will be removed when “security threats” to Russians in Georgia are eliminated.

The Government of Georgia will cover the travel expenses of those passengers who will travel from any Russian airport to Georgia via Yerevan. A total of 600,000 euros has been issued to finance transit flights, so that each of the passenger will receive up to 90 euros to cover their travel expenses.

Head of the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) Koba Gvenetadze says that external factors and fewer tourists have made an impact on the exchange rate of the national currency, with one US dollar costing 2.93 GEL as of today.

The ruling Georgian Dream party says that the draft resolution of the European Georgia opposition party, which urges for additional international sanctions against Russia, is destructive and will lead to imposing economic sanctions on Georgia. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that he would resume direct flights with Georgia, which were suspended in July 2019, as a majority of Georgians ‘have seen the negative sides’ of the ‘provocation staged’ in the Georgian parliament on June 20.He said that the Georgian opposition deliberately sparked unrest in the Georgian parliament after the address of Russian MP Sergey Gavrilov from the seat of the Georgian parliament speaker that day.

 Russian airline Pobeda has asked the Ministry of Transport of Russia to clarify deadlines on when they will receive compensation for the financial loss the company has experienced due to the Russian-initiated suspension of direct flights to Georgia in July, Ekho Kavkaza reports.

In the first 11 months of 2019, Georgian airports served 4,869,190  passengers in total, which is a four per cent increase compared to the same period of 2018, announced the United Airports of Georgia. 

Russian MP Sergey Gavrilov, whose taking the seat of the Georgian parliamentary speaker in June 2019 sparked large protests in the Georgian capital, has called Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili’s recent statement ‘a serious signal’ for improvements in Russia-Georgia relations.

Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani said in response to his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov that the Georgian legislation does not consider having trade representations of foreign countries. 

The Georgian Prime Minister’s Special Representative for Relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze has responded to Russian FM Sergey Lavrov’s recent interview with Russian newspaper Trud, in which the latter expressed hope that aviation connections with Georgia would be restored in the near future. 

US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan said that in order for relations between Georgia and Russia to be normalised Russia must lift restrictions on flights to Georgia. 

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that if Tbilisi ‘stops using Russia as a card to maintain western support’ Moscow is ready to restore ties with Georgia which were suspended after the Russia-Georgia 2008 war. 

Irakli Kobakhidze, the Head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday called “shameful” the recent statement of Andriy Kasianov, the Ukrainian Charge D'affaires in Georgia, on possible evacuation of Ukrainians stranded in Georgia due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict, in case of resumption of flights between Georgia and Russia. 

The Georgian Civil Aviation Agency on Friday rejected media reports on restoration of direct flights with Russia, saying the “status quo of the mentioned situation has not changed”.

Maka Botchorishvili, the Chair of the European Integration Committee of the Georgian Parliament, on Wednesday responded to the Russian Government lifting its ban on flights with Georgia and visa requirements for citizens of the country by saying the moves were designed to “create obstacles” for Georgia’s European integration.

Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili, on Wednesday, said Georgia remained committed to its policy regarding international sanctions against Russia, imposed on the country for its invasion of Ukraine and would continue “close cooperation” with its partners after the Russian Government lifted its ban on flights with Georgia and visa requirements for citizens of the country.

Mamuka Mdinaradze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party in the Parliament, on Monday rejected criticism by the domestic opposition and the United States Ambassador on restoration of direct flights between Georgia and Russia as “illogical”.

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Thursday said Russia had “unilaterally resumed” direct flights with Georgia in May, and “no formal talks” had been held on the topic with Moscow, in response to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s comments on the topic earlier this week. 

Zurab Abashidze, the Georgian Prime Minister’s Special Representative in Relations with Russia, on Tuesday reacted to an audio recording released on YouTube that allegedly contained his exchange with Grigory Karasin, the Chair of Russia’s Federation Council Committee on Foreign Affairs, in March 2022 over resumption of direct flights between the states by saying there was “nothing scandalous in it”.