Air traffic with Russia restoration: 27 EU countries announce démarche to Georgia

This is reported by Ekho Kavkaza.

Georgia's approval of direct flights with the Russian Federation is in contradiction to the unanimous decision of 27 EU countries to reject flights to and from Russia, as well as to close their airspace to Russian aircraft, according to Gerchinsky. He emphasized that this decision undermines the efforts to isolate Russia and pressure it to change its aggressive tactics in the ongoing war in Ukraine.

But the head of Georgia's Ministry of Economy argued that “the country's situation is unique and different from that of EU member states” due to its direct border with Russia and the occupation of 20% of its territory.

"Georgia is in a particularly difficult situation: we have a direct border with the Russian Federation and 20% of Georgia's territory is occupied, so the context of Georgia differs from the context of EU member states, and we talked about this openly. I think that for most ambassadors this is clear and logical," noted the Georgian minister.

• On May 11, it was announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree ending the visa regime for Georgian citizens, effective from May 15, 2023. Additionally, air transportation between Russia and Georgia will resume. The European Union has urged Georgia not to allow Russian planes to enter its territory.

• On May 15, Georgia permitted the first Russian airline, "Azimut," to operate flights to the country. The following day, Georgian Airways received authorization for regular flights to Moscow. Subsequently, another Russian airline, Red Wings, was granted permission as well.

• On May 20, President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili announced a boycott of Georgian Airways, which had initiated direct flights to Moscow. In response, the airline declared Zurabishvili persona non grata on their planes.

• On May 25, it was reported that Georgian Airways plans to introduce transit flights for Russians traveling through Tbilisi to European destinations.