Georgia insists that no sanctioned Russian airlines will enter its airspace

A number of Georgian officials have insisted that no sanctioned Russian airlines will be allowed to enter its airspace. This follows news last week that Russian President Vladimir Putin reversed a 2019 ban on Russian airlines flying to Georgia on Wednesday (10 May).

The day after the news broke, both the Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili and the ruling Georgian Dream party head Irakli Kobakhidze said that no Russian airlines that fall under international sanctions would be allowed to enter Georgian airspace. This had also been underlined the day before by Georgia's Deputy Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili.

Prime Minister Garibashvili said that his government's "unequivocal" position was that "flights with sanctioned aircraft will not be carried out. This will happen only with planes and companies not under sanctions". Meanwhile, Kobakhidze stressed that "the Georgian Government will not allow circumvention of the sanctions".

This was then repeated on Saturday by Chair of the Georgian Parliament's Human Rights Committee, Mikheil Sarjveladze, who said Georgia "has no intention" of cooperating with Russian airline companies sanctioned by the international community for its invasion of Ukraine.

Russian airlines under extensive sanctions

Given that the Russian aviation industry is under massive sanctions, it is currently unclear which Russian airlines would be permitted by the Georgian government to fly to Georgia, if any at all.

The European Union in particular has sanctioned at least 20 Russian airlines. These include the biggest names, including Aeroflot, S7, Pobeda, and Rossiya, right down to smaller regional airlines.

Taking note of Russia's decision to lift the ban, the EU Delegation to Georgia said: "the EU encourages Georgia, aspiring to become EU candidate country, to align with the EU and other countries in their sanctions against Russia also in the aviation sector, and to remain vigilant regarding any possible attempt to circumvent them."

Meanwhile, the U.S. also warned Georgia of economic sanctions if it permitted the resumption of direct flights with Russia.

source: commonspace.eu with agencies
photo: Georgia About

 

Related articles

Editor's choice
News
The leaders of the states of the Eurasian Economic Union issued a tough statement warning fellow-member state Armenia of the consequences of its desire to join the European Union.

The leaders of the states of the Eurasian Economic Union issued a tough statement warning fellow-member state Armenia of the consequences of its desire to join the European Union.

The leaders of the states of the Eurasian Economic Union (EEAS) issued a tough statement warning fellow-member state Armenia of the consequences of its desire to join the European Union. The stark, sharply worded,  warning, comes days before crucial parliamentary elections in Armenia, scheduled for 7 June. The full statement said, “We, the Presidents of the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation, Taking into account the actions of the Republic of Armenia aimed at joining the European Union, including the approval in 2025 by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and the signing by the President of the Republic of Armenia of the Law of the Republic of Armenia "On the Start of the Process of Accession of the Republic of Armenia to the European Union", as well as the confirmation by the European Union of the European aspirations of the Government of the Republic of Armenia, expressed in the joint declaration following the first Armenia-European Union summit, adopted on 5 May 2026, Taking into account the significant risks to the economic security of the member states of the Eurasian Economic Union (hereinafter referred to as the Union) arising in connection with the preparation of the Republic of Armenia for accession to the European Union, as well as the need to prevent the associated damage to the member states of the Union: decided that the members of the Eurasian Intergovernmental Council from the Republic of Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic and the Russian Federation will report at the next meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in December 2026 on the possible consequences of the suspension of the Treaty on the Eurasian Economic Union with respect to the Republic of Armenia. We share the position on the need to hold a national referendum in the Republic of Armenia as soon as possible on joining the European Union or continuing to be part of the Eurasian Economic Union. Astana, May 29, 2026” A meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council was held in Astana, Kazakhstan, on May 29, 2026. The meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council in a restricted format was attended by Russian President Vladimir Putin, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko , Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev , Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov , Armenian Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan, and Chairman of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission Bakytzhan Sagintayev. From the Russian side, the meeting was also attended by Deputy Prime Minister and member of the Council of the Eurasian Economic Commission Alexey Overchuk and Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov . The heads of delegations from EAEU observer states, including President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev , Vice President of Cuba Salvador Valdés Mesa, Minister of Industry, Mines, and Trade of Iran Mohammad Atabak, and CIS Secretary General Sergei Lebedev, joined the expanded meeting . Following the meeting of the Supreme Eurasian Economic Council, a number of documents were signed .

Popular

Editor's choice
Interview
Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Thursday Interview: Murad Muradov

Today, commonspace.eu starts a new regular weekly series. THURSDAY INTERVIEW, conducted by Lauri Nikulainen, will host  persons who are thinkers, opinion shapers, and implementors in their countries and spheres. We start the series with an interview with Murad Muradov, a leading person in Azerbaijan's think tank community. He is also the first co-chair of the Action Committee for a new Armenian-Azerbaijani Dialogue. Last September he made history by being the first Azerbaijani civil society activist to visit Armenia after the 44 day war, and the start of the peace process. Speaking about this visit Murad Muradov said: "My experience was largely positive. My negative expectations luckily didn’t play out. The discussions were respectful, the panel format bringing together experts from Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Turkey was particularly valuable during the NATO Rose-Roth Seminar in Yerevan, and media coverage, while varied in tone, remained largely constructive. Some media outlets though attempted to represent me as more of a government mouthpiece than an independent expert, which was totally misleading.  Overall, I see these initiatives as important steps in rebuilding trust and normalising professional engagement. The fact that soon a larger Azerbaijani civil society visits to Armenia followed, reinforces the sense that this process is moving in the right direction." (click the image to read the interview in full)