Ruling party MP sees “no need at this stage” to convene security council meeting amid “mass influx” of Russian nationals
In his remarks over the matter, the Georgian Dream MP noted that “as soon as there is even the slightest reason to convene a security council meeting, it will certainly be done”. Photo: Parliament of Georgia
Tweet 
Share
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.
In his remarks over the matter, the Georgian Dream MP noted that “as soon as there is even the slightest reason to convene a security council meeting, it will certainly be done”.
The ministry of internal affairs is openly disclosing data [on recent border crossings]. There is speculation that a large part of the incoming [Russian] citizens are ethnically Russian, which is not true - most of the people coming from Russia are ethnically Georgian, Armenian and Azerbaijani, who are originally from Georgia and most of them have property here”, Mikanadze said.
"Therefore, while a meeting of the security council will be convened if it is necessary, at this stage there is no such need”, he concluded in his comments.
The Georgian interior ministry on Tuesday released statistics on border crossings to Georgia made by Russian citizens over the last 10 days, which showed that 78,742 citizens of Russia had entered the country and 62,120 left its territory in the period.
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.
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.
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”.
Lasha Khutsishvili, the minister of finance of Georgia, on Monday said the number of individuals entering and leaving the country had both increased recently, stressing the “situation is under full control” at border checkpoints.
Georgian deputy minister of internal affairs Aleksandre Darakhvelidze on Wednesday said planned opposition rallies at the Georgian-Russian border “at such a time” would be an “additional challenge” for the police.
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.
US ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan on Friday said the task for the country’s authorities to address security concerns was “first and foremost”, while they should also support Russian nationals “fleeing repression and war” by crossing the state borders into neighbouring countries.
Andrew Weber, the former United States assistant secretary of defence, on Thursday welcomed the Georgian government’s move to “open the doors” to Russian nationals leaving the country to avoid having to participate in the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine.