Russian President Vladimir Putin, with his statement about the refusal to impose sanctions against Georgia, provided the authorities of the republic with another chance to “come to their senses” for the sake of normalizing bilateral relations. This opinion was expressed by State Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin. Meanwhile, the speaker of the lower house of parliament indicated that the position of the State Duma regarding the need to take retaliatory measures against the injection of anti-Russian hysteria in Georgia has not changed.
“When we see how dangerous it has become for our tourists, we see manifestations of extremism, we must do everything so that the Georgian side will come to their senses and decide on building relations based on friendship, mutual respect and non-interference in the affairs of other states,” he added.
Earlier, Russian leader Vladimir Putin, during a meeting with journalists after participating in the work of the II Global Summit on Production and Industrialization, said that one should not impose financial restrictions on Tbilisi.
“I would not do this because of respect for the Georgian people. Because one came out, blurted out something, pretending to be something, nobody knew about him before, but now everyone is talking. In this sense, he achieved his goal, ”said the head of state.
According to Tatyana Moskalkova, the Commissioner for Human Rights in the Russian Federation, the head of state made a “weighted and humane” decision that would preserve the humanitarian corridor between the countries.
The President of the Russian Federation also believes that for Georgian journalist Georgy Gabunia is too “too much honor” for criminal cases to be brought against him from the Russian side.
“Let it continue broadcasting,” Putin concluded.
Recall that on the evening of July 7, Gabunia, on the air of his PS program on the Rustavi 2 TV channel, insulted Vladimir Putin for almost a minute using profanity. The behavior of the journalist was condemned by many Georgian citizens, some of whom went to protest rallies, demanding to dismiss Gabunia. A day later, the self-regulation body of the Georgian TV channel removed the lead from work for two months.
Tbilisi Reaction
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze welcomed the “good” decision of the Russian president not to impose sanctions.
“My personal position is that there should be no barriers between nations,” he noted.
The head of the Georgian government also called "unacceptable for a sane person" the words that were spoken by the leader of the channel "Rustavi 2".
A similar point of view was expressed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia, stressing that the purpose of the provocation was to destabilize the situation and damage cooperation, including economic, between the countries.
“Naturally, this should not be allowed in any way. The decision I heard was definitely correct and can only be welcomed, ”said the head of the republic’s foreign affairs department, David Zalkaliani.
In turn, the leader of the “European Georgia” party, David Bakradze, expressed satisfaction that no sanctions would be imposed, but he said that the Russian authorities did this ostensibly for no good reason. According to him, Moscow uses restriction and its lack of introduction as a "mechanism of blackmail and pressure."
“The sad reality is that the president of Russia turned out to be more adequate in assessing this situation than the president and the entire leadership of Georgia,” the Georgia Online portal quotes the policy.
"Russia has taken the necessary steps to normalize the situation"
According to the first deputy chairman of the committee on international affairs of the Federation Council, Vladimir Dzhabarov, the president of Russia has shown himself to be a “huge personality”.
“Our president has taken a courageous step, and why would the Georgian leadership in the person of the president, the prime minister not just say that we welcome such a decision, but apologize on behalf of Georgia for the insults. That would be adequate, ”the senator said in an interview with RT.
At the same time, he pointed out the unstable situation in Georgia, where radical elements are gaining ever greater power.
“Unfortunately, I do not know how this will end for Georgia. The political elite of Georgia is absolutely Russophobic, I was convinced of this at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly, which ended in Luxembourg. We have seen how this elite acted and what kind of evil Russophobic resolutions it promotes. This elite cannot solve the problems of Georgia, and now the main problem of Georgia is that the country does not produce anything, does not produce anything other than wine and tourism, ”Jabarov explained.
In turn, the first deputy chairman of the State Duma Committee on International Affairs, Dmitry Novikov, noted that in the recent period there was a positive trend in relations between the Russian Federation and Georgia, but, apparently, it did not suit everyone.
“Now we have taken the necessary steps to normalize the situation. If these actions get a response from the other side, then both countries will ultimately benefit. The Georgian political establishment is not united in this matter: there are those who occupy a sound position, proceed from the need to develop partnerships, and there are those who occupy the opposite position with varying degrees of aggressiveness, ”the source added.