Reactions in Georgia have been mixed after Russia announced it was abolishing visas for Georgian nationals and lifting a ban on direct flights to the South Caucasus nation, with members of the government welcoming the announcement while the president and others denounced it, highlighting the complicated, and often rocky, relations between Moscow and Tbilisi.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on May 10 signed two decrees, one allowing Georgian nationals to enter Russia without visas starting from May 15, unless they are coming to work in Russia for more than 90 days. The second decree lifted a ban on direct flights by Russian airlines to Georgia that Moscow unilaterally imposed in 2019 after a wave of anti-Kremlin protests in Georgia.
Hours after that announcement, Russia's Transport Ministry said Russian airlines would operate seven flights weekly between Moscow and Tbilisi. It said Russia wanted "to facilitate the conditions for communication and contacts."
The European Union, 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.
Relations between Russia and Georgia have been on edge for years.
The two countries fought a brief war in 2008 over South Ossetia, a Russian-backed breakaway region of Georgia. The two countries have had no formal diplomatic ties since that war, which ended with Georgia not only losing control of South Ossetia but Abkhazia, as well. Russia has troops stationed in both regions.
SEE ALSO: How Chechen Strongman Kadyrov Uses Official Honors To Seek Prestige And Reward AlliesGeorgia 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.
In June 2022, the European Commission declined granting Georgia EU candidate status, instead urging it to carry out a series of reforms. In March, amid large street protests, Georgia's government abandoned efforts to pass a draft law regulating so-called foreign agents. Critics said the bill was like a Russian law used to undermine civil society there, and that it was symbolic of an authoritarian shift in Georgia.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said in a post on Twitter on May 10 that Putin’s dual decrees were “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," she wrote.
Zurabishvili, whose post is largely ceremonial, has often accused the ruling Georgian Dream party of having ties to Moscow since being elected with its backing in 2018.
Echoing those concerns, Teona Akubardia, deputy chairwoman of the Parliamentary Committee on Defense and Security, told RFE/RL's Georgian Service that the Kremlin action "increases the dangers" for Georgia.
"This is another test for the citizens of Georgia, how they will respond to this hostile move by Russia and how Russia will achieve its goal -- to use additional levers of influence against Georgia," she added.
Dozens of Georgians later on May 10 protested outside the Georgian Foreign Ministry building in Tbilisi hours after Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili welcomed Russia's decision, saying it "will simplify the daily living conditions of our citizens, and it will give them the chance to communicate and travel freely and easily."
Deputy Economy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili told reporters the announcement would significantly improve travel options for the million Georgians living in Russia.
The Kremlin announcement is a "very clear sign that Georgia is moving closer to Russia and distancing itself from the West," offered Gigi Gigiadze, a former Georgian deputy foreign minister and former ambassador to Denmark, in comments to RFE/RL's Georgian Service. "This is very bad for Georgia," Gigiadze added.
It also smacks of desperation in Moscow as it searches to find allies amid growing international isolation for its ongoing attack on Ukraine, according to Georgian political analyst Gela Vasadze.
"It is clear that the situation after February 2022 has changed dramatically. Russia has become a pariah for most economically developed countries," Vasadze told Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA.
"For 22 years, Georgia has learned to live well without Russia. Georgia is absolutely economically independent from Russia. We have been receiving gas from Azerbaijan since 2007, and most of our trade is with the European Union. As for trade with Russia, this is trade exclusively with companies that are affiliated with the ruling authorities," Vasadze explained.
Reports earlier this year that the Georgian government was mulling whether to restart direct flights with Russia triggered concerns at the time in both Brussels and Washington.
"Many Western countries, including the United States, prohibit Russian aircraft from entering their airspace. We would be concerned about the resumption of flights between Russia and Georgia, given that companies at Georgian airports could be subject to sanctions if they serve aircraft subject to additional import and export controls," the U.S. State Department told the Georgian Service of Voice of America on February 2.
"The entire Western community has distanced itself from this brutal regime, and now is not the time to expand engagement with Russia."
"We are aware of the recent discussions on the possible restoration of direct flights between Russia and Georgia," Peter Stano, an EU spokesman, told the Georgian newspaper Netgazeti on February 4.
"The European Union calls on Georgia to join the sanctions imposed by the European Union and other countries against Russia in the aviation sector and to remain vigilant against any possible attempts to circumvent the sanctions."