Russian President Vladimir Putin has lifted the visa requirement for Georgians and the ban on flights between Russia and Georgia. Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili described Putin's two corresponding decrees on Wednesday as "another provocation by Russia". The resumption of direct flights and the lifting of visa requirements are "unacceptable as long as Russia continues its aggression against Ukraine and occupies our territory," Zourabichvili wrote on Twitter; the two breakaway territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia are controlled by Russia.
Reinhard Veser
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The Georgian government, on the other hand, welcomed the decision of the Russian president. It makes life easier for a million Georgians living in Russia, said Foreign Minister Ilya Darchiashvili.
Putin had banned direct flights in June 2019 after large anti-Russian demonstrations in Tbilisi for reasons of "Russia's national security". The lifting of this ban had already been brought into play by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov at the beginning of the year. In the same statement, he praised the Georgian government for resisting alleged pressure from the West to join sanctions against Russia. Georgia is officially seeking membership in NATO and the EU.
But for some time now, the government and its affiliated media have been cultivating an increasingly strong anti-Western rhetoric. Thus, in accordance with Russian propaganda, they claim that the West wants to open a "second front" against Russia in Georgia. In doing so, it appeals to the widespread fear of a repeat of the Russian-Georgian war of 2008. In March, the government sought to enforce a Russian-style law against "foreign agents of influence" aimed at civil society. It withdrew it after massive street protests, but accused "foreign forces" of trying to overthrow the government by force.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, tens of thousands of Russians have found temporary or permanent refuge in Georgia. However, prominent Russian opponents of the regime have been denied entry by the Georgian authorities in several cases.