Russian Envoy Comments on Georgian MP Visa Row
Russian Ambassador in Tbilisi Vladimir Chkhikvishvili denied on November 17 that the Russian Foreign Ministry has a ?black list? of Georgian politicians who will not be granted Russian entry visas.
He also said that a scandal involving the initial refusal of the Russian Embassy to issue a visa to Georgian parliamentarian Givi Targamadze was exaggerated and the visa was issued after a repeated consideration of the application.
The Georgian parliamentary delegation boycotted the CIS Parliamentary Assembly after the Russian Embassy?s initial refusal to grant a visa to one of its delegation members.
?I would like to say that Mr. Targamadze is not included on any lists; simply, it was necessary to review this issue [granting of visa] once again and finally we informed Mrs. Burjanadze [Georgian Parliamentary Chairperson] that a visa has been issued,? Chkhikvishvili told reporters.
?The Georgian delegation did not depart to St. Petersburg [on November 16] citing that it was already late. But I want to inform you that in two hours there was another plane and we told Mrs. Burjanadze that if Mr. Targamadze failed to receice a visa at the Embassy, we were ready to issue a visa for him upon his arrival in Moscow. There was a flight today [on November 17] as well,? Chkhikvishvili said and added that he regrets that the Georgian delegation failed to participate in the CIS PA.
