Russia had unilaterally resumed direct flights with Georgia in May, and no formal talks had been held on the topic with Moscow, said the Prime Minister of Georgia, while commenting the statement of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov’s on the topic earlier this week.

“There was nothing scandalous in the statement, as both resumption of direct flights and the cancellation of visa requirements required approval by the Georgian Government.

The Russian President said he had made the decisions unilaterally, and Lavrov has confirmed this. Of course, the decisions to come into operation needed the agreement with the Georgian Government, namely with the Aviation Agency of the Ministry of Economy. Otherwise, no flights could be operated.

Our Government had done everything very openly, welcomed Moscow’s decision on the flights as beneficial for Georgian citizens living in Russia”, - said Irakli Garibashvili.

He also reiterated the stance of his Government that only non-sanctioned aircraft and airlines would be allowed into the country on the backdrop of Moscow’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine.