It was Saakashvili's Gov’t who asked for direct flights with Russia after 2008 August war - PM

Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili on Saturday said just a few months after the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, the previous Georgian Government had asked Russia for direct flights with the country and the former President Mikheil Saakashvili had lifted a visa regime with Russia in 2012.

Garibashvili responded to the Russian President Vladimir Putin’s latest comments made to the media, in which the latter said "I thought that the leadership of Georgia had repeatedly raised an issue of lifting visa requirements and restoring normal air traffic, and we took this step” and the PM noted Putin was probably referring to Saakashvili’s Government regarding this.

The current Government does not have any political dialogue with Russia, the Head of the Government said, adding the country only had economic and trade relations with it. “If anyone had attempts, contacts and visits [to Russia] from the Georgian Government, it was Saakashvili's Government”, he stressed.

Flights are part of trade and economic relations, this has nothing to do with politics or anything at all, [...] one million of the Georgian diaspora and their relatives, family members need free movement, visa-free regime. Today, Moldova has a visa-free regime [with Russia]. Ukraine, I think, still has a visa-free regime. At least, it was before the war, if I'm not mistaken. So there is nothing special here”, Garibashvili said.

He pointed out that “hundreds of millions of dollars” were being transferred to the country from the Georgian diaspora living in Russia to help their family members in Georgia and develop businesses. Garibashvili expressed the Georgian Government’s commitment to “help its people everywhere, within the country or abroad”.

About a million Georgians live in Russia, even if it was half a million or a hundred thousand, it is our obligation to take care of our people, the PM said responding to the domestic opposition’s statements about the number of Georgians living in Russia.

The peaceful policy of the Georgian Government was also highlighted by Garibashvili, stressing that 20 percent of the country was occupied by Russia with its army stationed in Georgia’s “historical territories” and slamming the previous Government for their “foolish and ill-considered policy”, which resulted in Russian soldiers returning to Georgian territories, after withdrawing their troops in 2007.

Garibashvili added the previous Government had betrayed the country by surrendering 20 percent of the territories to Russia, including Kodori Valley and more than 100 villages, with many soldiers killed. “Months later after the war they sold very important energy or strategic infrastructure to Russian companies”, he said.

Our Government acts based on the interests of our country and our people, [...] we have our problems to solve, [...] First we have to think about ourselves, we have to think about our country, we have to think about Georgia”, Garibashvili said, expressing once again his solidarity and support to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion in the country and wishing Ukrainians for the war to end soon, reconciliation and peace.