MOSCOW, July 9. /TASS/. The statement of the Russian State Duma, lower chamber, proposing that the government consider possibility of introducing responsive measures against Georgia is in line with the position of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who refused to impose sanctions against this country, State Duma deputy speaker Sergey Neverov told reporters on Tuesday.
"The Duma’s statement does not run counter to the President’s position," he said. On Monday, Neverov proposed that the State Duma Council submits the document for the chamber’s consideration.
"The State Duma voiced its position regarding the anti-Russian provocations that are taking place in the country and are not reined in by the Georgian authorities," he clarified. "The statement that we adopted addresses the government [with a recommendation] to consider expediency of applying economic measures that are stipulated by the legislation," he recalled.
The list is rather broad, from restricting the tourist business and access to Russian ports to introducing sanctions on foreign economic transactions, he pointed out. "By adopting this statement, we underlined that we are not interfering in the domestic affairs of Georgia, but the situation that emerged is directly involving Russia. This [the Duma’s statement] is precisely the parliament’s position regarding the authorities and officials and not the Georgian people, I would like to emphasize that," he concluded.
On Tuesday, the State Duma unanimously adopted the statement, condemning the anti-Russian provocations on Georgia and proposing that the government and the President respond to them by introducing a number of economic measures. Putin said that Russia should not introduce sanctions out of respect for the Georgian people and to preserve the bilateral ties.
On July 7, Giorgi Gabunia, the host of Georgia’s Rustavi 2 TV channel, went into a rant, spewing forth several crude comments about the Russian authorities in his Post Scriptum program. This escapade has drawn sharp criticism in the Georgian society, with dozens of citizens gathering outside the opposition TV channel’s building in the suburb of Tbilisi to voice protest over the host’s behavior.
Georgia’s authorities, including President Salome Zurabishvili and Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze, have condemned the incident. Nika Gvaramia, Director General of the Rustavi 2 TV channel, likewise criticized Gabunia for his remarks. Later, Gabunia was suspended from work for two months.