The U.S. State Department will impose sanctions against Georgia if Georgian airlines start servicing Russian sanctioned aircraft in the event of the resumption of flights between Russia and Georgia.
Source. A State Department spokesman told Accent news.
Western countries condemn the actions of the regime in Russia and believe that now is not the time to build relations with Russia, the statement said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin should withdraw his troops from the occupied territory of Georgia, and not "restore direct flights or cancel visa regime", as the Georgian people need it, the State Department spokesman said.
"A number of Western countries, including the United States, have banned Russian airlines from flying in their airspace. If direct flights between Russia and Georgia are resumed, this will cause us concern and make it possible to impose sanctions on Georgian airlines that will operate aircraft under import and export control," he emphasized.
On May 10, Russian dictator Putin signed decrees to abolish the visa regime for Georgian citizens and to resume air travel with the country, which was suspended in 2019 after anti-Russian protests.
Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili said that these decisions were a provocation and unacceptable "as long as Russia continues its aggression against Ukraine" and occupies the territory of Georgia itself.