The situation of Georgia cannot be considered in the same context as the situation of other countries. Such a statement made today the Minister of Economy after meeting with EU member state Ambassadors.

“EU member states expressed their opinion regarding the resumption of flights to Georgia. This was exactly the main subject of discussion. The situation of Georgia cannot be considered in the same context as the situation of other countries. Georgia has a particularly difficult situation. Georgia has a direct border with Russia and 20% of our country is occupied. The context of Georgia is different from the context of the EU member states and this was openly discussed with the Ambassadors.

I think that this is absolutely understandable and logical for the Ambassadors of many countries. We also touched on the general issue of sanctions enforcement and compliance in this geopolitical situation, including the fact that we will have three additional points of contact with Russia.

Today, you know that we have the main border in Larsi, and customs control is strictly carried out here, and everyone emphasizes this. Georgia is a reliable partner of the international community in the area of sanctions enforcement.

However, there are three new screening points in Tbilisi, Kutaisi and Batumi airports, here, of course, there is readiness from our side. Similar to the highest level of sanctions enforcement at the Larsi customs checkpoint, there will be additional customs controls at these airports as well.

This is also very important information that we shared with the ambassadors of the EU member states.

We also talked about the fact that the positions of EU member states regarding trade relations are not clear today. It was very interesting for us to know what the prediction is, what will be the attitude regarding trade relations. You know that some countries have been trading significantly more with Russia since the start of the war.

In 2022, EU trade with Russia has increased by EUR 5 billion, for some countries it has tripled, and for some countries it has decreased, of course. Therefore, it is important for us to have a clear, open and honest dialogue with the Europeans on each issue.

Of course, we may have differences of opinion on some issues, but our situation cannot be equated with the situation of EU member states. First of all, Georgia is still not a member of the EU, we have applied for the membership of the EU and we are making significant progress in this direction. We hope that this progress will be adequately appreciated by our European partners”, - said Levan Davitashvili.