Georgian MFA summons head of Ukrainian embassy over comment regarding Tbilisi-Moscow relations

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia has summoned the Chargé d'affaires of Ukraine in the country, Andrey Kasyanov, to deliver an explanation for his statement.

According to Caliber.Az with reference to Georgian media, the press service of the department reported, that the diplomat, temporarily in charge of the Ukrainian embassy stated that if direct air communication between Russia and Georgia should be restored and real security risks increased, the Ukrainian embassy would not rule out the possibility of appealing to international organizations to receive assistance for the mass evacuation of Ukrainian citizens from Georgia.

"We invited him to the Ministry to explain his statement. Other issues of bilateral relations will not be discussed at the meeting", the press service of the Georgian foreign ministry reported.

Kasyanov himself insists that his words are misinterpreted, telling the opposition TV channel "Formula", that the Georgian politicians who criticize him should read the entire text, its original version and not take words out of context. 

On January 18, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov expressed the hope that direct flights between the two countries will be restored soon. The leaders of the ruling party of Georgia welcomed this while President Salome Zurabishvili spoke out against it.

Caliber.Az recalls, that Russia banned direct flights to Georgia in July 2019 in response to the hype surrounding the arrival of a Russian Duma member, Sergey Gavrilov and the subsequent wave of protests with anti-Russian slogans in Tbilisi.

The two countries currently have no diplomatic relations.