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Russia aims to normalize ties with Georgia, but process must be ‘two-way street’, says MFA

Air traffic between Russia and Georgia could be resumed as "the prohibition on Russian airlines from conducting air service for citizens from Russia to Georgia is temporary," it was noted

MOSCOW, January 21. /TASS/. Moscow wants to normalize relations with Tbilisi but this process should be a ‘two-way street,’ the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Friday to respond to media questions received for the press conference of Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

"Russia had to introduce the mentioned restrictions, responding to the notorious incitement by Georgian radicals. However, we remain committed to the goals of normalizing Russian-Georgian relations, overcoming existing disagreements and fostering bilateral ties since all this meets the interests of the peoples of both countries. However, this process should be a two-way street. We seriously hope that the Georgian authorities will derive lessons from the past and pursue a more weighed policy towards Russia," the statement reads.

Responding to a question about when air traffic between Russia and Georgia could be resumed, the Russian Foreign Ministry replied that "the prohibition on Russian airlines from conducting air service for citizens from Russia to Georgia is temporary."

"We have repeatedly outlined the terms for its cancelation. The Georgian side is well aware of them. They stipulate stabilizing the situation in Georgia, halting the Russophobic campaign and eliminating threats to the security of our citizens. [Furthermore,] we have no choice but to take the sanitary and epidemiological situation into account as well," the Russian Foreign Ministry added.

On July 8, 2019, President Vladimir Putin of Russia imposed a temporary ban on Russian airlines from carrying out air service with Georgia. Moreover, from this date, a resolution by Russia’s Transport Ministry suspending Georgian flights to Russia went into force. The move came after several thousand people staged an anti-Russian rally on June 20 in Tbilisi near the parliament’s building which was triggered by the participation of Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) member Sergey Gavrilov in the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy, organized in the Georgian parliament by the host country.

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Foreign policy Georgia

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