Ukraine claims gains near Bakhmut as deadly fighting continues
TBILISI, Georgia — President Vladimir V. Putin on Wednesday ordered the restoration of direct flights from Russia to the mountainous former Soviet republic of Georgia from May 15 and lifted visa requirements for Georgian nationals, in the latest sign of continued rapprochement between the two nations.
This is reported by the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs a statement that the decisions announced on Wednesday were taken in accordance with the “principled approach to gradually improve the conditions of communication and contacts between the citizens of Russia and Georgia”.
Mr Putin’s decisions highlighted the highly complex relationship between Russia and Georgia, where many members of civil society, pro-Western opposition activists and lawmakers see the Kremlin as the greatest threat to the country’s stability and security. However, the country’s governing party tacitly supports closer ties with Moscow.
In 2008, Georgia fought a painful five-day war with Russia leading to Moscow’s army taking control of the two secessionist regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, or about a fifth of Georgia’s territory. Since then, Russia and Georgia have not had formal diplomatic relations.
Mr Putin banned flights between Russia and Georgia in 2019, after anti-Kremlin protests broke out in the center of Tbilisi, the Georgian capital. Russia began requiring visas from arriving Georgian citizens in 2000, citing a risk of terrorism in the North Caucasus, where it was fighting a war in Chechnya at the time.
Putin’s announcement on Wednesday drew criticism from pro-Western officials and lawmakers in Georgia. President Salome Zourabichvili, who serves as the country’s ceremonial head of state, called Mr Putin’s moves a “provocation” and “unacceptable” as Russia continues to wage its war in Ukraine, another former Soviet republic.
She also called on the country’s government to convene a meeting of the Security Council and discuss introducing a visa requirement for Russian citizens, who can currently stay and work in the country for up to a year without a visa.
Ms. Zourabichvili has often made sharp statements criticizing the Georgian government as being too subservient to Russia, but it is the country’s ruling party, Georgian Dream, that has the real power over government policy. The party officially says it pursues pro-Western policies, but has also advocated a pragmatic approach to developing ties with the Kremlin.
The relationship with Russia has been the subject of a heated and polarizing debate in Georgia, with many members of the pro-Western opposition arguing that the country should impose sanctions on Moscow and be more active in supporting Ukraine.
However, since the large-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Georgia has expanded its trade with Russia. It also came up as one of the main transit hubs for goods shipped between Turkey and Russia, including some from the West. The Georgian opposition claims the trade helps Russia evade some Western sanctions, which the Georgian government denies.
Hundreds of thousands of Russians fled their country in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine and Putin’s order months later to mobilize troops for the war. Many have established in Georgia, boosting the country’s economy by moving their assets there.
Georgia’s pragmatic approach to its relations with Russia has been praised by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov, who said in January that the decision to refrain from imposing sanctions “commands respect” from Russia.
According to Mr Putin’s order, Georgian citizens will have the right to enter Russia without a visa and stay there for 90 days.
This is reported by the Russian Ministry of Transport a statement that seven flights a week would be operated between Moscow and Tbilisi, and that the aircraft used would all be Russian-made. The Georgian government said it would only allow flights from airlines not placed under Western sanctions, according to RIA Novosti, a Russian news agency. Most of the largest Russian airlines, including Aeroflot, are subject to those sanctions.
So said Roman Gotsiridze, a legislator from the Georgian opposition a statement on his Facebook account that Mr Putin’s decisions on travel and visas had “put Georgia on par” with Belarus, “a friendly state to Russia”.