TBILISI -- A Russian passenger plane has landed in Tbilisi, the first since Russian President Vladimir Putin lifted a 2019 flight ban last week.
An aircraft from Russian airline Azimuth on May 19 took off from the Russian capital carrying a group of pro-Russian Georgian activists living in Russia, including the chairman of the Solidarity For Peace organization, Merab Chikashvili; the director of the Georgian-Russian Public Center, Dmitry Lortkipanidze; the head of the Georgian-Russian Friendship Center, Valery Kvaratskhelia; and other activists and public figures.
Moscow unilaterally imposed the ban on direct flights by Russian airlines to Georgia in 2019 after a wave of anti-Kremlin protests in Georgia.
Putin lifted the ban on May 10, also signing a decree allowing Georgians to enter Russia without visas starting from May 15, unless they are coming to work in Russia for more than 90 days.
The move, however, has been met with some derision in Georgia.
Georgian opposition activists greeted the plane with a protest rally near the Tbilisi airport over any warming of relations with the Kremlin because of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which like Georgia was once part of the Soviet Union before regaining independence.
WATCH: Hundreds gathered at the main airport in Tbilisi on May 19 to protest the return of direct flights from Russia.
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Georgians Dismayed At Renewed Direct Flights From Russia
The protesters carried Georgian and Ukrainian national flags, as well as posters, saying "Russian plane, go f**k yourself," a reference to the famous statement by a Ukrainian soldier responding to a Russian military ship's request to surrender in early in Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Police did not allow the protesters, who sang the Georgian national anthem, to enter the airport and detained several of them.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili wrote on Twitter, "Despite the opposition of the Georgian people, Russia has landed its unwelcome flight in Tbilisi."
The two countries have had no formal diplomatic ties since Russia routed Tbilisi's forces in a brief war in 2008 that ended with Tbilisi losing control over the breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Georgia has also voted in favor of all international resolutions condemning Russia's aggression in Ukraine. It has also provided Ukraine with humanitarian aid and taken in thousands of war refugees.
At the same time, the Black Sea country of 3.7 million has been a top destination for Russians fleeing the partial mobilization that Putin announced in September 2022 and the worsening general crackdown in Russia.
SEE ALSO: When A Week Turns Into A Year: The Ukrainians Who Have Built New Lives In GeorgiaThe European Union has criticized the flight resumption, while Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili called Putin's decrees "another provocation."
"Resuming direct flights and lifting visa ban with Georgia is unacceptable as long as Russia continues its aggression on Ukraine and occupies our territory," Zurabishvili, who has often accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of having ties to Moscow since being elected with its backing in 2018, wrote on Twitter.
The Georgian Civil Aviation Agency said on May 19 that another Russian airline, Red Wings, had been given a license to start charter flights from the Russian city of Sochi to Tbilisi and back three times a week as of June 2.
The agency said earlier that Georgian Airways will resume direct flights to Russia from May 20.
The EU , United States, Canada, and other states have banned Russian airlines from entering their airspace since Putin launched his full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.