Vladimir Putin said that the resumption of air communication between Russia and Georgia was his personal decision and proposal. The statement was made at a meeting with members of Delovaya Rossiya, Vedomosti writes . According to Putin, the negative reaction of the people of Georgia surprised him.
“Frankly, I was completely surprised by the reaction that followed. I thought that everyone would say “thank you, good”, but no, there was some kind of completely incomprehensible storm on this issue. Very strange and, frankly, unexpected.”
On May 20, a Georgia Airlines aircraft flew to Russia for the first time since 2019. On the same day, Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, during a briefing, called on fellow citizens to boycott the airline, promising that she herself would not use its services. The President called it unacceptable that a Georgian airline, which enjoys the support of the state, flies to a country that occupies 20% of the Georgian territory. Georgian Airways declared Zurabishvili persona non grata.
Many Georgians also opposed the opening of air traffic – those who arrived on the first flight were met by protesters. The rally was also held near the Georgian parliament in Tbilisi. Also, the protesters gathered at the hotel where the daughter of Sergei Lavrov was staying. She came to visit the wedding. At the same time, many Russian oppositionists, journalists and activists are still not allowed into Georgia.