12:19, 10 July 2019

Putin opposes new sanctions against Georgia

The building of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Photo: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov

The introduction of new anti-Georgian sanctions will increase tensions in mutual relations, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated. Mamuka Bakhtadze, the Georgian Prime Minister welcomed this position.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on July 9, the Russian State Duma MPs, in addition to the ban on the Georgian-Russian air traffic, suggested to ban the import of Georgian wine and water, as well as money transfers. The Georgian President, Salome Zurabishvili, called on the Russian authorities not to react to the actions of "radical forces in Georgia." The ban on the import of Georgian wine into Russia may lead to a decrease in exports by 200 million US dollars a year, Georgian economists have assessed.

The idea of new sanctions against Georgia was voiced out on July 8 by Sergey Neverov, the leader of the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party faction after an obscene statement about Putin of journalist Giorgi Gabuniya made on air of the "Rustavi-2" Georgian TV Company.

Mamuka Bakhtadze, the Georgian Prime Minister, has praised the above Putin's statement and noted that "there should be no barriers in relations between the nations," the "Sputnik-Georgia" reports.

The State Duma does not plan to withdraw its appeal to the government on the imposition of new economic sanctions, Vyacheslav Volodin, the State Duma Chairman, has stated.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on July 10, 2019 at 01:50 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.