Ukrainian Charge D'affaires summoned to Georgia’s foreign office over Ukraine’s sanctions on Georgian Airways

Oleksandr Shulha, the Ukrainian Charge D'affaires in Georgia, was summoned to the Georgian Foreign Ministry on Monday after the decision of Ukraine's Government to put the flagship Georgian Airways carrier on its list of sanctioned companies, the local media said.

Georgian Airways and its founder, Tamaz Gaiashvili, were included in the list of 190 individuals and 290 companies sanctioned by the Ukrainian Government with a decree signed by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Saturday.

The development followed decrees by Russian President Vladimir Putin in May to lift the 2019-imposed ban on Russian airlines operating flights to Georgia and cancel visa requirements for Georgian citizens to visit the country. 

Following the decrees - which were followed by widespread criticism by Georgia’s domestic opposition and some Western partners of the country against the restoration of flights between Russia and Georgia - Georgian Airways became the second airline, after Russia’s Azimuth, to receive a permit to carry out flights between destinations in the two countries. 

In their response, Georgian authorities have said the flights are only permitted to be operated by Russian airlines not on the list of international sanctions imposed on Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.