Russia’s crisis in Georgia grows: President declared persona non grata
Protests continued in the Georgian capital Tbilisi against the launch of direct flights between Russia and Georgia for the first time since 2019.
The demonstrations that began yesterday in Tbilisi against the launch of direct flights with Russia continue today.
The protesters gathered in front of the parliament building demanded that the Moscow-Tbilisi, Tbilisi-Moscow flights be stopped.
Protesters chanting slogans against Russia and the Russian government closed Shota Rustaveli street to traffic.
Accusing Russia of implementing a policy of violence against Georgia and stating that 20 percent of the country’s territory is under Russian occupation, the protesters said they will continue their demonstrations unless their demands are met. The show, which lasted about 4 hours, ended without incident.
THE PRESIDENT DOES NOT GET ON THE PLANE
Georgia Airlines made a remarkable decision…
The Russian news agency TASS reported that Tamas Gaiashvili, the founder of a private company, Georgian Airlines, declared President Zurabishvili “persona non grata.” “He was banned from boarding planes until he apologized to the people of Georgia,” Gaiashvili said.
THEY HAVE ALSO REMOVED VISAS
Russian President Vladimir Putin, with the decrees he signed last week, abolished the visa application for Georgian citizens as of May 15, and ended bans on Russian airline flights to Georgia and on the sale of packages tourism by tourism companies to the country. .
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, for her part, reacted to Putin’s decision on the same day, saying that “as long as Russia invades the territory of your country, the abolition of the visa application with Georgia cannot be accepted.”
After the anti-Russian protests in Georgia, on June 21, 2019, Putin banned Russian airlines from flying to Georgia and selling package tours to that country.
The first plane to fly from Moscow to Tbilisi since 2019 yesterday was met with protests at Tbilisi Shota Rustaveli International Airport.