The US State Department will impose sanctions against Georgia if Georgian airlines, in the event of the resumption of air traffic between the Russian Federation and Georgia, begin to service Russian aircraft under sanctions. This was stated by a representative of the State Department edition of Accent news.
Western countries condemn the actions of the regime in Russia and believe that now is not the time to build relations with Russia, the statement said. Russian President Vladimir Putin should withdraw troops from the occupied territory of Georgia, and not "restore direct flights or cancel the visa regime", this is what the Georgian people need, the State Department spokesman said.
“A number of Western states, including the United States, have banned the flights of Russian airlines in their airspace. If direct flights between Russia and Georgia are resumed, this will cause our concern and make it possible to impose sanctions against Georgian airlines that will serve aircraft that are under import and export control.”
On May 10, President Putin signed decrees on the abolition of the visa regime for citizens of Georgia and on the resumption of air traffic with this country, which was terminated in 2019 after anti-Russian protests. Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said that these decisions are a provocation and are unacceptable “as long as Russia continues its aggression against Ukraine” and occupies the territory of Georgia itself. The Insider asked political analysts and experts to explain why Putin made such a decision now: according to them, Moscow's actions are beneficial to the Russian special services. More details – follow the link .