Georgia proposes to impose "occupation duty" for Russians

The parliamentary faction of the "United National Movement" opposition party proposes to change Georgia’s law on occupation.

MP from United National Movement Levan Bezhashvili said that the initiative envisages an "occupation duty" worth 1,000 lari (about $360) for Russian citizens entering Georgia, according to News Georgia.

The MP noted that on the one hand, by paying the duty, Russian citizens entering Georgia will recognise that Russia is an “occupier”. Moreover, the paid amount will be transferred to the refugee fund.

“This contribution should become a deterrent – if they do not want to pay, they will be unable to enter the country,” the MP noted.

“We offer parliament, government, society to change the legislation proceeding from a specific difficult situation. As is known, the uncontrolled influx of Russian citizens has reached a very large scale, which is associated with the country's internal security, financial issues and great risks. Our party is submitting a political application for this process by making the initiative to change Georgia’s law on occupation,” Bezhashvili said.

According to the statistics published by the Georgian Interior Ministry, 78,742 Russian citizens entered Georgia from September 17 through 26. During the same period, 62,120 Russian citizens left Georgia.