1st President’s son comments on Abastumani airspace controversy

The son of Georgia’s first president, Zviad Gamsakhurdia, Giorgi Gamsakhurdia, has weighed in on the ongoing controversy surrounding alleged changes to flight routes over the Abastumani observatory area.

The debate follows reporting by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, which claimed that adjustments to air traffic patterns above Abastumani were made following a request linked to ruling party founder and honorary chair Bidzina Ivanishvili.

In a social media post, Gamsakhurdia dismissed the allegations, arguing that criticism of major development projects in Georgia has often followed a similar pattern, including references to past infrastructure initiatives.

He defended the redevelopment of Abastumani, describing it as a significant improvement over its previous condition, and said that similar accusations have been made in the past regarding other large-scale projects.