Interior minister rejects media claim on 250,000 visitors from Russia entering Georgia over past 5 days
Gomelauri also responded to a question about demands by some of the domestic opposition that the government enact border closures for Russian citizens amid the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine. Photo: 1tv.ge
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Georgian interior minister Vakhtang Gomelauri on Tuesday rejected the local media claim that said 250,000 individuals from Russia had entered the Georgian territory over the last five days since the announcement of the partial military mobilisation in Russia as a “lie”.
It's a lie. I don't know where you get these numbers from. About four to five days ago there were five to six thousand visitors [from Russia] daily, and now it has increased to about ten thousand”, the minister said in response to a question by a reporter that had included the claim on the former number.
“[The number] has increased somewhere by 40-45 percent and is not 250,000 or two million”, he told the press, adding about 60 percent of recent visitors from Russia were eventually leaving Georgia.
Gomelauri also responded to a question about demands by some of the domestic opposition that the government enact border closures for Russian citizens amid the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The official drew a contrast to the previous government’s policy in the aftermath of Russia’s 2008 invasion of Georgia and the subsequent war between the two states by reminding the media in 2011 the then president Mikheil Saakashvili had “personally welcomed” visitors from Russia at the border three years after the conflict.
We have strengthened our [security] units [at the border] to filter [using security checks] as much as possible and not let anyone [who is a security risk] infiltrate. The [state] security service is also helping us”, Gomelauri said, adding checkpoints on the border with Russia were operating at full capacity and noting “I don't think the number of visitors will increase any more than that - we physically would not be able to handle it”.
Earlier today Russian media reported the country’s authorities intended to deploy a mobilisation point of the military enlistment office on the border with Georgia, in the wake of last week’s announcement by the Russian president of a partial mobilisation for bolstering ranks for the ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
Georgia’s interior minister Vakhtang Gomelauri on Thursday dismissed the allegations made by the currently imprisoned former deputy head of the country’s state security service, Soso (Ioseb) Gogashvili and said he had “never” had a “face-to-face meeting” with representatives of the Russian Federal Security Service in Belarus capital city of Minsk.
Questions related to visa-free travel of Georgian citizens to the European Union/Schengen Area were discussed on Monday in a meeting between the Georgian Minister of Internal Affairs Vakhtang Gomelauri and Nicole de Moor, the State Secretary for Asylum and Migration of Belgium.
Vakhtang Gomelauri, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Georgia, inspected the measures being taken against forest fire in central-western Georgia’s Borjomi municipality on Monday.
Georgian Interior Minister Vakhtang Gomelauri on Friday dismissed allegations against him of exercising pressure on the currently imprisoned former Deputy Head of the country's State Security Service, Soso (Ioseb) Gogashvili, describing the accusations by the latter and his family as “ridiculous and absolutely unfounded”.
The Georgian interior ministry on Tuesday released statistics on border crossings to Georgia made by Russian citizens over the last 10 days and detailed rules for entering the country and grounds for refusal, in response to recent claims by the domestic opposition on a “mass influx” of Russian nationals following the announcement of partial military mobilisation in the country last week for Russia’s ongoing war against Ukraine.
Issues related to the challenges of increased border crossings into Georgia were discussed on Tuesday in a meeting between Georgian president Salome Zourabichvili and interior minister Vakhtang Gomelauri.
Givi Mikanadze, an MP for the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday said there was “no need at this stage” to convene a meeting of the national security council, in response to president Salome Zourabichvili who on Tuesday said the government could use the format amid a “mass influx” of Russian nationals following the announcement of partial military mobilisation in the country last week.
The Georgian interior ministry on Friday said the flow of Russian nationals across Georgian borders had “significantly decreased” over the past two days, following the recently announced partial mobilisation by the Kremlin to recruit at least 300,000 for its war in Ukraine, which pushed many in the country to flee to evade military service.