EU demarche on resumed Russia flights “won’t become hindering factor” – Georgian parliamentary official

Maka Botchorishvili, the chair of the European Integration Committee in the Georgian parliament, on Thursday said the EU’s demarche on recently resumed Russia-Georgia flights would not become a “hindering factor”. 

 

The lawmaker claimed the protest by the EU ambassadors and all diplomatic missions from the bloc’s 27-member states in Georgia earlier this week to Tbilisii’s acceptance to the flights, “practically was a demand to impose individual sanctions on Russia ”. 

 

“The demarche cannot become a hindering factor, it is a kind of diplomatic gesture that we were introduced to the position of 27 EU member states, but the content of the demarche is important here”, Botchorishvili said. 

 

She pointed out  the county’s partners had claimed they never demanded Tbilisi to impose sanctions on Russia for its ongoing aggression against Ukraine, but added “although judging by the content of the demarche, it turns out that we are being asked to impose sanctions”. 

 

“Georgia is not a member of NATO and the EU, Russia is a neighboring state and it occupies 20 percent of the Georgian territory, their troops are stationed on our territories”, Botchorishvili said. 

 

Moscow on May 10 lifted visa and travel restrictions with Georgia, with the Georgian authorities accepting the moves, pointing to “humanitarian benefits” and potential security threats in the case of rejection.