Russian FM Lavrov supports resumption of flights to Georgia as Georgians ‘realised consequences’ of June 20
Russian FM Sergey Lavrov says that he has always supported friendly relations with Georgia.Photo:AP.
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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, “which was part of an ordinary procedure,” of an international forum, the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy.
Lavrov stated that now there are “reasonable politicians,” in the Georgian government and expressed hope for improved relations with the country “for which I have always lobbied.”
He stated that Russia had plans to abolish the visa regime with Georgia in the summer of 2019 which was delayed due to the June unrest in Tbilisi.
Speaking about Georgia’s occupied regions of Abkhazia and Tskhinvali and Georgia’s goal to become a member of NATO, Lavrov said that Russia did not enter the regions to hamper Georgia’s NATO integration.
I confirm that we do not want to see NATO near us. However, we entered Abkhazia and Tskhinvali solely to protect locals,” Lavrov stated in his interview with Kommersant.
He said that if NATO accepts Georgian membership with the article on collective defense covering only Tbilisi-administered territory, ‘we will not start a war, but such conduct will undermine our relations with NATO and with countries who are eager to enter the alliance.”
Abkhazia and Tskhinvali have been recognised as independent regions only by Russia, Venezuela, Nikaragua, Nauru and Syria since the Russia-Georgia 2008 war.
The rest of the international community says that the regions are occupied by Russia.
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 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.
Flights between Georgia and Russia have been banned starting today following the recent decision of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The ban on flights was announced after protesters in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi tried to storm the Georgian parliament on June 20 when a Russian MP addressed a forum of politicians at the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy from the speaker’s chair.
Georgian opposition MPs have interrupted the 26th Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) after a Russian MP and president of the assembly, Sergey Gavrilov addressed the audience from the Georgian parliamentary speaker’s chair earlier today.
Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani met with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on the sidelines of the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York today. The meeting, which is the first since Georgia suspended its diplomatic ties with Russia following the Russia-Georgia war in 2008, was "initiated and facilitated" by Switzerland.
EU, OSCE and the UN top officials have welcomed the recent meeting between Georgian and Russian Foreign Ministers David Zalkaliani and Sergey Lavrov which was the first high-level meeting of top officials from the two countries after the suspension of diplomatic ties back in 2008, due to the Russia-Georgia war.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said at a press conference during the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York yesterday that at the recent meeting with his Georgian counterpart David Zalkaliani the issue of re-launching flights to Georgia was also raised.
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.
The Russian aviation agency has allowed S7 Airlines to carry out flights between Kutaisi and Moscow as soon as direct flights between the two countries are restored, Sova News and RIA Novosti report.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says that the June 2019 ‘provocations’ [referring to protests in Tbilisi] have negatively influenced the process of normalising relations between the two countries which was launched in 2012 under the Georgian Dream leadership.
Russian FM Sergey Lavrov says that the Russian government is ready to discuss the opening of a trade representation in Georgia if Tbilisi makes such an offer.
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.
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.
US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan has responded to the recent statement of Russian FM Sergey Lavrov on preparedness to restore relations with Georgia, stating that Georgia ‘has many times heard’ such messages from Russia and they are not trustworthy until Russia withdraws its troops from the Georgian territory. She said that Russia ‘has taken no steps so far’ to de-occupy Georgia’s Abkhazia and Tskhinvali regions.