Ukraine has placed sanctions on Georgia's national airline, Georgian airways, over its decision to re-start flights with Russia after Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted a ban on flights between Georgia and Russia on 10 May.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky signed a decree on Saturday (1 July) sanctioning Georgian Airways and its chairman, Tamaz Gaiashvili. The sanctions on Georgian were among another round of sanctions placed on 190 individuals and 290 legal entities, including Kazakh and Belarusian companies.
Georgian Airways' decision to re-start flights with Russia was met with criticism with the EU, who had been pushing Georgia to align with EU sanctions on Russia. On that occasion, the EU said that Tbilisi's decision "contradicts our determination to isolate Russia and put pressure on it to change its tactics when it comes to the brutal and aggressive war Russia continues to wage [on Ukraine]".
Separately, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili had also criticised Georgian Airways for re-starting flights with Russia, which led her to be declared persona non grata by the airline later in May.
source: commonspace.eu with agencies
photo: Shutterstock/PYOK
