The Georgian Parliament explained the refusal to introduce a visa regime for Russians

The Georgian leadership does not establish a visa regime for Russians and does not ban flights, as this may cause adverse retaliatory measures from Moscow, Speaker of the Georgian Parliament Shalva Papuashvili told reporters. transmits TASS.

“The responsibility of the Georgian authorities is to prevent a military confrontation with Russia and an economic crisis. Any sanction, the introduction of visas, a flight ban, the closure of airspace, etc. imply a move towards escalation. And escalation is a situation where it becomes difficult to control the situation and the expected response,” the politician said.

Georgia’s policy, according to Papuashvili, is both to support Ukraine and to lift sanctions against Russia, since this ensures security, including economic security, for the country’s citizens.

Tbilisi Mayor and General Secretary of the ruling Georgian Dream Democratic Georgia party Kakha Kaladze also today declared about the absence of the need to introduce a visa regime for Russians.

On May 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the resumption of air traffic with Georgia, which was terminated in the summer of 2019. In addition, by a separate decree, on May 15, he canceled the visa regime for Georgian citizens.

After that, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili called the decision of the Russian authorities a provocation and unacceptable against the backdrop of the continuation of the military operation in Ukraine. She also spoke with a proposal to introduce visas for citizens of the Russian Federation. Now Russians visit Georgia in a visa-free regime. At the same time, the Georgian government supported the decision of the Russian authorities. Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said that everything that makes life, movement and business easier for our citizens is positive and welcome.

May 19 from Moscow flew out the first passenger plane in Tbilisi in four years. The flight was operated by the Russian airline Azimuth, which on May 15 received permission from the Georgian authorities to operate flights to the republic. On May 20, the first flight to Moscow was carried out by the Georgian airline Georgian Airways.