On May 19 and 29, 2023, a Georgian-language Facebook user published two posts about the resumption of direct flights between Russia and Georgia. According to the post published on May 19, per Lithuania’s position, the restoration of flights to Russia is a deviation from the European course, in response to which the author states that it would be better to cancel the Riga-Moscow flight first. In a post published on May 29, the author asks the question on why the ambassadors of 27 EU countries are protesting the resumption of flights when the EU member states themselves have flights and diplomatic relations with Russia.
Nikoloz Samkharadze, the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee at the Parliament of Georgia, also commented on the mentioned topic. On May 29, Samkharadze stated that the démarche of the ambassadors of the EU member states is a good opportunity for the representative of the Georgian government to discuss the policy of Georgia and the logic of the Russian side’s decision in greater detail. In addition, according to the MP, he also questions why not all Russian airlines are subject to EU sanctions.
The posts disseminated on Facebook are false, while Nikoloz Samkharadze’s statement about flights between EU countries and Russia is manipulative. Since February 2022, the sky of the European Union has been closed to all Russian aircraft, while several countries do not even allow Russian citizens even for tourist purposes. EU sanctions that are imposed on selected Russian airlines concern the safety of their planes.
The above-mentioned Facebook posts convey the information about the flights between Russia and the EU member states in a manipulative manner, creating the impression that the European officials make such kind of demands to Georgia what they themselves do not fulfill.
In fact, EU member states and Great Britain closed their airspace to Russian aircrafts as early as February 27, 2022, a few days after Russia invaded Ukraine. The airspace has been closed to all Russian-registered, Russian-owned or Russian-controlled aircrafts. This list also includes private planes of oligarchs.
The post published on May 19 mentions Lithuania and Riga, the capital of Latvia. Restricting Lithuania’s airspace is particularly important for Russia, as the shortest air route between Kaliningrad Oblast and the rest of Russia passes through Lithuania.
The closure of the airspace resulted in an increase in the number of Russian citizens who tried to reach the territory of the European Union by land. In response, in August 2022, the foreign ministers of the EU member states agreed to cancel the 2007 visa facilitation agreement between Russia and the EU.
The change in the current visa regime has made it more difficult for Russian citizens to obtain an EU visa, in particular, it has increased the visa fee and the terms of obtaining it. Additionally, the European Union does not recognize passports issued by the Russian authorities in the occupied territories of Ukraine.
In addition, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Estonia, which were in favour of stricter measures, banned Russian citizens with short-term Schengen visas from entering their territory. The decision entered into force on September 19, 2022. In August of the same year, Finland announced that it would reduce the number of visas issued to Russian citizens by 90%.
Notably, citizens of the Russian Federation can enter Georgia without a visa since 2012. According to the regulation implemented on February 29, 2012, Russian citizens could visit Georgia without a visa for 90 days. However, in 2015, according to the decree of Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili, Russia was included in the list of countries whose citizens can enter the country without a visa and stay for a period of 1 year; therefore, the regulation was eased in this direction.
As for the European Union, none of the member states have direct flights to Russia, while Russian citizens willing to enter the EU use alternative, indirect routes.
Nikoloz Samkharadze’s question as to why EU sanctions do not apply to all Russian airlines is also manipulative. No Russian-owned airline can use the airspace of EU member states. In addition, some of the companies were blacklisted by the European Union, not simply because of a political decision, but because these companies did not meet security standards. In April 2022, 21 Russian airlines were included in the list, which was caused by the fact that these airlines were using hundreds of foreign aircrafts nationalized by Russia, having only local certificates of airworthiness.
The list of Russian Airlines sanctioned for Security Standards
- Aeroflot
- Aircompany Ikar
- Alrosa Air Company
- Aurora Airlines
- Aviastartu
- Iraero Airlines
- Izhavia
- Nordstar Airlines
- Nord Wind
- Pobeda Airlines
- Rossiya Airlines
- Rusjet
- Rusline
- Siberia Airlines
- Skol Airlines
- Smartavia Airlines
- Ural Airlines
- Utar Aviation
- UVT Aero
- Yakutia
- Yamal Airlines
Resumption of direct flights between Russia and Georgia
Reports about the possible resumption of direct flights between Russia and Georgia appeared in early 2023. On January 18, 2023, at the press conference dedicated to the 2022 summary of Russian diplomacy, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov positively assessed the economic development of Georgia and linked this fact to economic cooperation with Russia. Lavrov also expressed hope for the future restoration of direct air traffic between the two countries. During the same period, the members of the “Georgian Dream” positively assessed the possibility of restoring direct flights, while President Salome Zurabishvili and the Ukrainian authorities assessed the fact negatively.
According to the decision of the President of Russia, from May 15, Georgian citizens can enter the Russian Federation and stay up to 90 days without a visa. Additionally, on the same day, the restriction on direct flights between the two countries was lifted. Direct air traffic between the countries has been limited since 2019 by the decision of the Russian side.
The restoration of direct flights between Russia and Georgia was followed by harsh criticism by Georgia’s European and Ukrainian partners. According to Peter Stano, the spokesperson of the European Commission’s Foreign Affairs Service, this decision of the Georgian government hinders Georgia’s progress towards the European Union and is not in agreement with the obligations that the country undertook under the Association Agreement.
At the business forum held on May 26, Vladimir Putin stated that the resumption of flights was his personal idea and decision to support the people who want to build normal relations between Georgia and Russia and who want to visit Georgia or do business in the country. The Russian president also said that, as he saw, the Georgian leadership repeatedly raised the issue of lifting the visa regime and resuming air traffic.
The representatives of the Georgian government deny holding any negotiations with Russia regarding these issues. They justify the resumption of direct flights with the argument that lifting restrictions will facilitate the free movement of the Georgian diaspora living in Russia.
About the Source
Besarion Sharashidze, the Georgian-language Facebook user that has disseminated the above-mentioned claim, often published posts of anti-Western and anti-Ukrainian content. The user has disseminated false information a number of times in the past.
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