First Russian airline lands in Georgia after 4 years | World News

Georgia gets its first commercial airline Russia after four years in office vladimir putin Order to resume direct flights with aspiring EU member states.

An Azimuth Airlines plane from Moscow landed at Tbilisi International Airport on Friday.

Georgia’s government welcomed Putin’s decision this month to lift the ban and ease visa requirements for its citizens, although critics slammed the move, with President Salom Zurabichvili calling it a “provocation”.U.S., EU urge Georgia to comply with sanctions Russia’s war on Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Georgian Airways received permission from the country’s Civil Aviation Authority to start flying to Russia from May 20. The EU’s chief spokesman for foreign affairs and security policy, Peter Stano, said on the same day that the EU regretted the decision to resume flights from Tbilisi, sparking debate over Georgia’s EU path and the country’s commitment to aligning itself with its foreign policy statements. “worry”.

Georgia hails Putin’s end to flight ban as US, EU warn ties

A small group of protesters gathered outside the airport after opposition leaders called for a demonstration against the resumption of flights, saying it was undercutting the country’s chances of joining the European bloc.

“We’re not going to end up flying into the EU on a Russian plane,” Droa party leader Helen Khoshtaria said earlier this week.

Ministers have sought ties to the Kremlin despite lingering tensions in two separatist regions occupied by Russia since a brief war in 2008. Georgia is also facing an influx of Russians fleeing the war since Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The thawing of relations between the governments of Tbilisi and Moscow has sparked divisions within the country of 3.7 million people, with anti-Russian protesters accusing authorities of undermining the country’s long-running efforts to join the European Union and NATO.

Although Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili condemned Russia’s “unwarranted” aggression against Georgia Ukrainehis government has refrained from imposing sanctions on Russia and has denied military aid to Kiev.