The Daily Beat: 18 August

Switzerland imposed restrictions on holders of Russian passports in the occupied Georgian regions. “Persons from the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine and the breakaway regions of Georgia cannot obtain a Schengen visa and cross external Schengen borders with travel documents issued by Russia. The Federal Council adopted this regulation at its meeting on August 16, 2023,” the statement of the Swiss Federal Council reads. The EU decided not to accept Russian documents issued in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine and Georgia in December last year.   

Russian Interests Section at the Swiss Embassy in Tbilisi proudly reported a sharp rise in postal shipments between Moscow and Tbilisi, praising the resumption of direct flights and noting its growing importance. According to the information published by the Section, in less than 1.5 months, the total weight of mail transported by the Russian airline Azimuth amounted to 4.6 tons. Moreover, the Russian Interests Section predicted that “in anticipation of an escalation in flight frequency and geographical coverage, the volume of air distribution is also expected to grow, serving a wide range of consumers.”

National Competition Agency fined five oil companies for keeping high prices in the retail market of motor fuel in March-August 2022. Agency concluded that “LUKOIL-Georgia” LLC, “Wissol Petroleum Georgia” JSC, “Sun Petroleum Georgia” LLC (“Gulf”), “SOCAR Georgia Petroleum” LLC, and “Rompetrol Georgia” LLC violated article 7 of the “Law on Competition” and in total, were fined up to GEL 4 million.

Comings and Goings

Meline Arakelian has been appointed a new Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Georgia. She already presented credentials to President Salome Zurabishvili and Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Khvtisiashvili. “I look forward to contributing to the excellent relations between Georgia and Netherlands,” the new Dutch Ambassador said on a social platform formerly known as Twitter.

Meanwhile, outgoing US Ambassador Kelly Degnan held a farewell meeting with Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili. According to the official press release, PM Garibashvili thanked the US Ambassador for her efforts and wished her success in future activities. Kelly Degnan, who served as the US Ambassador to Georgia since 2020, will be succeeded by a career diplomat Robin Dunnigan.