Russian President Vladimir Putin had signed a decree earlier today that direct flights from Russian airlines to Georgia should resume in the future. They had been scrapped since 2019 due to bilateral tensions. Putin’s decree also stipulates that Georgians can enter Russia without a visa.
“The restart of direct flights and the lifting of visa requirements are unacceptable as long as Russia continues its aggression towards Ukraine and keeps our territory occupied,” Zurabishvili wrote.
Relations between the two countries have been very tense, especially since Russia waged war against the small Black Sea country in 2008. At that time, diplomatic relations were also terminated.
To this day, Moscow supports the breakaway Georgian regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia and has stationed its own troops in the region. The tentative rapprochement between Moscow and Tbilisi came to an end in 2019 when riots broke out in the Caucasus republic after a Russian politician appeared in the Georgian parliament.
According to Moscow, the new travel rules are “an effort to consistently facilitate communication and contacts between citizens of Russia and Georgia”.