EU member states expressed their opinion regarding the resumption of flights to Georgia - we discussed that the situation of Georgia cannot be considered in the same context as the situation of other countries, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia, Vice Prime Minister Levan Davitashvili stated after meeting with EU member state ambassadors.
According to Levan Davitashvili, sanctions are being enforced at the highest level at the Larsi customs exit point, and there will also be customs control at the airports.
"We had a very open, honest dialogue on the issues that are relevant for EU member states today. EU member states expressed their opinion regarding the resumption of flights to Georgia, and this was exactly the main subject of discussion, although we discussed the current geopolitical situation in general, we discussed that the situation of Georgia cannot be considered in the same context as the situation of other countries. Georgia has a particularly difficult situation, Georgia has a direct border with the Russian Federation and 20% of Georgia's territory is occupied, so the context of Georgia is different from the context of the EU member states, this was openly discussed with the ambassadors of the EU member states. I think that this is absolutely understandable and logical for the ambassadors of many countries. We also touched on the general issue of sanctions enforcement and compliance in this geopolitical situation, including the fact that we will have three additional points of contact with the Russian Federation. Today, you know that we have the main border in Larsi, and customs control is strictly carried out here, and everyone emphasizes this. Georgia is a reliable partner of the international community in the area of sanctions enforcement. However, there are three new screening points in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi airports, here, of course, there is readiness from our side. Similar to the highest level of sanctions enforcement at the Larsi customs checkpoint, there will be additional customs controls at these airports as well. This is also very important information that we shared with the ambassadors of the EU member states," said Levan Davitashvili.
According to Levan Davitashvili, EU member states have different attitudes regarding trade relations with Russia.
"We also talked about the fact that the positions of EU member states regarding trade relations are not clear today. It was very interesting for us to know what the prediction is, what will be the attitude regarding trade relations. You know that some countries have been trading significantly more with the Russian Federation since the start of the war. In 2022, EU trade with the Russian Federation has increased by 5 billion euros, for some countries it has tripled, and for some countries it has decreased, of course. Therefore, it is important for us to have a clear, open and honest dialogue with the Europeans on each issue, and this, I think, is correctly assessed and appreciated by the EU member states. Of course, we may have differences of opinion on some issues, but our situation cannot be equated with the situation of EU member states. First of all, Georgia is still not a member of the European Union, we have applied for the membership of the European Union and we are making significant progress in this direction. We hope that this progress will be adequately appreciated by our European partners, but it should also be taken into account that the context of Georgia is really different, our situation is specific, be it in terms of security or economic relations," said Levan Davitashvili.
