EU threatens Georgia with sanctions if flights to Russia resume

Georgia has been threatened with sanctions from the EU if it decides to resume flights with Russia.

Peter Stano, the speaker of the external relations service of the European Union, on Sunday, February 5, called on the Georgian authorities to comply with aviation sanctions against Russia, which were introduced by the EU authorities.

He noted that the EU sanctions regime provides for secondary sanctions against those who support circumvention of the restrictions imposed on Russia.

In response to a request from the Netgazeti portal, a statement from Stano read: “Due to Russia’s illegal aggression against Ukraine, the EU has imposed sanctions on Russian aviation. The EU calls on Georgia to join the sanctions imposed by the EU and other countries against Russia in the aviation sector and remain vigilant against any possible attempts to circumvent the sanctions”.

On January 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Russia hoped for a speedy resumption of air traffic with Georgia. The Minister also called the position of the Georgian authorities ‘courageous’ because, according to him, they were ‘guided by the interests’ of their country, and not those of Western states.

Irakli Kobakhidze, the head of the ruling Georgian Dream party, supported Lavrov’s proposal. However, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said that she does not welcome the resumption of flights with Moscow. In her opinion, the Russian minister’s statement is aimed at causing a split in Georgia’s relations with its Western partners.

Direct flights between Russia and Georgia have been suspended since 2019 by decree of President Vladimir Putin after protests took place in the capital city of Tbilisi, as reported by kommersant.ru.

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