Russia Says Ready to Resume Flights with Georgia Next Week
Russian aviation authorities have informed their Georgian counterparts that they are ready to resume direct air flights between the two countries starting from March 25, the Russian Ministry of Transport said.
A letter of notification has already been sent to the Georgian Economy Ministry, the Russian MoT press office reported on March 18.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said on March 18: “We hope that the resumption of direct air traffic will have a positive effect on bilateral relations and will signal the revival of traditional neighborly relations.”
The Georgian and Russian sides signed a protocol in February in Moscow under which Tbilisi undertook to repay a debt owed and accumulated by Georgian air carriers in the early 90s. Russia said that direct air traffic between the two countries would resume after the debt was repaid. The debt reportedly was over USD 3 million. The Georgian Economy Ministry said that the debt should be split between and repaid by two companies, Georgian Airways and Georgian National Airlines. Georgian Airways said last week it had paid USD 2 million. It was not immediately clear who or if the balance had been paid.
Russia cut air, sea, land and railway links, and postal communication with Georgia on October 3, 2006 – one day after Georgia released four Russian military officers accused by Tbilisi of espionage. Officials in Moscow cited commercial reasons, as well as the outstanding debt, for the decision, but Tbilisi claimed the move was political.
