TBILISI (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 29th June, 2019) Georgian Prime Minister's Special Representative for Relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze said on Friday that he had discussed the current situation in Georgia, where a wave of anti-Russian protests recently took place, with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin, and that they both had expressed a desire to maintain positive relations between the two countries.
"We have discussed the existing situation. It has been noted that we along with the Russian side are inclined to preserve, to the possible extent, the positive developments that have been achieved in recent years in terms of trade, economic, transport and certain humanitarian ties," Abashidze told reporters, stressing that it was important to control emotions in the current situation.
Protests in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi erupted on June 20 over the Russian delegation's participation in a session of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy. Demonstrators tried to storm the parliament building, demanding the resignation of the parliament speaker and other officials. The rally was dispersed by special forces with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons. As a result, 240 people were injured and more than 300 were detained.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili has called Russia an "enemy and occupying state" interested in provoking internal division in Georgia. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, in turn, has described Zourabichvili's remarks as unprofessional and suggested that the head of state was either unaware of what was going on or intentionally distorting the situation.
On June 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree tightening national security measures in light of anti-Russia protests in Georgia. The decree obligated the Russian airlines to temporarily stop passenger flights from Russia to Georgia starting on July 8. It also advised Russian tour operators and agents to suspend sales of tours to Georgia until the ban is lifted.
