On 10 May 2023, Russian President Vladimir Putin stirred up Georgia and the European Union with two decrees, abolishing the visa regime with his Caucasus neighbour and allowing direct air links between the two countries to resume. This caused a sensation and even a scandal.
The Russian Foreign Ministry explained the easing of restrictive measures with “an approach of principle” aimed at facilitating contacts between the two countries’ citizens. And in December 2022, the ministry praised Tbilisi for its pragmatic approach to relations with Moscow amid sanctions imposed by various countries against Russia over the UAS in Ukraine.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili, a French-born graduate of the Paris Institute of Political Science and Columbia University in the US, has spoken out strongly against the Russian leader’s decisions, she called her Russian counterpart’s decrees provocative.
“I propose to convene the National Security Council and consider the introduction of visas for Russian citizens for three months, which is necessary for us given the internal challenges. […] Georgia does not need any alleged concessions from Russia. The decision of the Russian leadership is against the interests of Georgia,” Zurabishvili said.
The Georgian opposition also opposed the resumption of air links. At the same time, the government and the ruling party Georgian Dream supported Moscow’s decision. The Georgian Economy Ministry said it was ready to issue permits for those Russian airlines that are not under sanctions.
The European Union also did not ignore the decision of the Russian President. They say Georgia needs to strictly comply with sanctions against the Russian aviation industry and not to allow Russian planes on its territory.
“The European Union has banned flights by its airlines to Russia and calls on the remaining countries, including Georgia, which is a candidate country for EU membership, to join these sanctions,” EU foreign policy spokesman Peter Stano expressed the European view. He also called on Georgia not to service “unsafe” Russian aircraft under the sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the EU.
According to him, the EU has no mechanisms capable of influencing the actions of the Georgian authorities, but Brussels hopes that Tbilisi will continue its policy of European integration.
Six Russian airlines – Aeroflot, S7 Airlines, Ural Airlines, Pobeda, Red Wings and Nordavia were flying to Georgia until April 2022. The Russian Ministry of Transport reported that after removal of restrictions, Russian airlines will operate seven direct flights from Moscow to Tbilisi and back. The flights will be operated by Russian-made aircraft, i.e. Superjets.
In April last year, the European Commission blacklisted 21 airlines from Russia due to their non-compliance with international safety standards:
Aurora;
Aviastar-TU;
Izhavia;
Yakutia;
Rusjet;
YuVT Aero;
S7 Airlines (Siberia Airlines)
Smartavia;
IrAero;
Ural Airlines;
Alrosa;
NordStar;
Rusline;
Yamal;
Nord Wind;
Ikar;
Pobeda;
Aeroflot;
Russia;
Skol;
Utair.
Of these, Yakutia, IrAero, Yamal and Russia have SSJ100 aircraft in their fleets. Consequently, these carriers with a high probability will not be allowed by the Georgian side to fly to Tbilisi. At the same time, Aeroflot and Nordwind have permanent permits for Moscow-Tbilisi flights, while Azimut has temporary ones.
Red Wings, the fleet of which also operates SSJ100, has already requested a temporary admission to flights to the capital of Georgia from Moscow, Samara and Kazan, according to the materials of Rosaviatsia. “Red Wings plans to expand its route network to this direction in the presence of permits for flights to Georgia. The flights will be operated from the main operating bases of the airline,” the press service of Red Wings said.
However, the airline may not be allowed to Georgia. Red Wings, through the UAC structures, belongs to the state corporation Rostec, while both Rostec and the UAC themselves are under sanctions by the European Union.
Thus, it turns out that in the current circumstances only one of all Russian airlines will be able to fly to Georgia, unless new restrictions are adopted – Azimut Airlines – the only carrier that, according to Rosaviatsia, has a monoflot of 19 Superjets and is not included in the EU sanctions lists.
