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NGOs: Russian Plane Does Not Land in EU

“The permission given by the Georgian authorities for flights between Tbilisi and Moscow is a direct sabotage of the country’s status as a candidate for EU membership,” say more than a hundred non-governmental organizations, adding that “Russian plane does not land in EU.”

In a joint statement released on May 18, CSOs note that “the European Union has clearly stated that it and its partners do not allow flights to or from Russia, and this decision by the Georgian government raises concerns about Georgia’s commitment to comply with EU foreign policy resolutions, as provided for in the Association Agreement.”

According to them, the government continues to change its foreign policy against the will of 89% of the Georgian people and the Georgian Constitution*. “Before the decision on the status of the candidate for EU membership is made, this kind of demarche ignores the foreign policy course chosen by the Georgian people, which has already brought us visa-free travel and direct flights to the EU, not to Russia.”

According to the NGOs, ” the Georgian population is already suffering from the existing foreign policy of the Government, one of the results of which is the increase in Russian immigration to Georgia”. “The sharp rise in prices and inflation are additional costs caused by this policy that we Georgian citizens have to pay”.

They therefore call on the authorities “to stop sabotaging the status of the candidate country and to immediately reject the decision to start direct flights with Russia, which is detrimental to Georgia’s interests”.

The statement is signed by “Transparency International-Georgia”; “Georgian Young lawyers Association”; “International Society for Fair Elections and Democracy”; “Open Society Georgia Foundation”; “Institute for Development of Freedom of Information”; and others.

Constitution of Georgia*, Article 78: Integration into European and Euro-Atlantic Structures – “The constitutional bodies shall take all measures within the scope of their competences to ensure the full integration of Georgia into the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization”.

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This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)

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