Kakha Kaladze, the Mayor of Tbilisi and the Secretary General of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Tuesday said the Georgian authorities would ensure airlines sanctioned for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would not be allowed to operate at Georgian airports, following the Kremlin’s lifting last week of its ban on flights with Georgia.
The lifting of the ban - imposed in 2019 following protests in Tbilisi against the Russian Government - has been followed by at least one Russian airline receiving the permit to carry passengers to Georgia starting on Friday, with a part of the domestic opposition and the United States Ambassador in Georgia questioning the restoration of direct air connections.
“We declare with full responsibility that no sanctioned company will be able to carry out flights. Relevant agencies are studying this issue”, Kaladze said.
"Flights and visa-free travel had been sanctioned unilaterally [by Russia], which was very bad. The decision regarding the resumption of flights and visa-free travel was announced a few days ago. Direct flights will start tomorrow, which will give citizens the opportunity to travel directly to different cities of Russia, instead of going through another country”, he added.
The official also stressed the occupation of Georgia’s two regions by Russia was the “biggest challenge”, and the country's Government would “spare no effort” to achieve de-occupation of the territories “in a peaceful way”.
