The President of Georgia urged to limit the rights of emigrants from the Russian Federation
She also criticized the Georgian government for its decision to resume direct flights to Russia.
The Georgian authorities should impose restrictions on Russians who arrived in the country over the past year.
This was stated by the President of the Republic Salome Zurabishvili during a speech in honor of the Independence Day, the Novosti-Georgia portal reports.
“The independence that we are celebrating today means protecting our citizens. Statehood means that the country is governed by rules and laws. This is the approach of the state, which should apply to everyone. Therefore, it is not clear why no measures and legal regulations have been introduced for Russians who have arrived in Georgia en masse and in relation to their activities, especially in areas such as healthcare, education, or even buying real estate and not paying taxes,” Zurabishvili said.
She criticized the Georgian government for its decision to resume direct flights to Russia. The president believes that because of the “incomprehensible” foreign policy, the republic deviates more and more from the course towards European integration and runs the risk of being isolated.
Relations between Georgia and Russia – details
In May 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin abolished the visa regime for Georgian citizens. In this regard, for the first time since 2019, direct flights from the Russian Federation to Georgia were launched.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili announced a boycott of the local airline Georgian Airways, which the day before, on May 20, operated a flight from Tbilisi to Moscow. This is the first flight after the resumption of air traffic between Georgia and the Russian Federation.