Georgian Airways founder awaits mirror response to Ukraine sanctions

Georgian Airways founder Tamaz Gaiashvili has said he expects a mirror response from the Georgian authorities to the sanctions imposed on him and his company by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

"I hope that this unjust and groundless decision of the president of Ukraine will be followed by an immediate and mirror response of the Georgian government," TASS quotes Gaiashvili as saying in a statement.

According to him, Kyiv's decision is of political nature, as many airlines from various countries fly to Russia, but no sanctions have been imposed against them.

He noted that the airline is only following the decisions of the Georgian government.

Zelenskyy had previously approved sanctions against Georgian Airways for resuming flights to Russia. Gaiashvili was also placed under Kyiv's 10-year restrictions.

On May 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to abolish the visa regime for Georgian citizens as of May 15. With another decree, he lifted the ban on Russian airline flights and the sale of tours to Georgia, which had been in place since 2019. The Russian airline Azimut started operating flights on May 19 and Georgian Airways operated its first flight on May 20.