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5 years ago

Russia temporarily bans flights to Georgia after violent clashes

Protesters hold police shields during a rally against a Russian lawmaker's visit near the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia June 21, 2019 - REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze
Protesters hold police shields during a rally against a Russian lawmaker's visit near the parliament building in Tbilisi, Georgia June 21, 2019 - REUTERS/Irakli Gedenidze

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President Vladimir Putin has temporarily banned Russian airlines from flying to Georgia following a spate of violent unrest in the country.

He signed the decree - which will be implemented from 8 July - on Friday.

It came after some 240 people were hurt a day earlier in protests that were ignited by the appearance of a Russian MP in Georgia's parliament.

Tensions between the countries remain high, 11 years after they fought a war over the region of South Ossetia.

Moscow will also recommend that Russian travel agencies suspend all tours to neighbouring Georgia, says a BBC report.

Sergei Gavrilov, the Russian MP who sparked the fury on Thursday, addressed an assembly of MPs from Orthodox Christian nations.

But protesters stormed the parliament in the capital, Tbilisi, and police used rubber bullets and tear gas in an attempt to disperse them.

The speaker of Georgia's parliament, Irakli Kobakhidze, has resigned following the violence. He faced a fierce backlash for inviting Mr Gavrilov to give the speech.

Deep frustrations on show

Protesters gathered again on Friday night outside the Georgian parliament building where they have been chanting "No to Russia" over and over again.

But they have motives that extend beyond denouncing Moscow. These demonstrators want the Georgian Interior Minister Giorgi Gakharia to resign over his handling of the unrest.

These people are also angry at how the police dealt with Thursday's protests. They used tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannon to push back the crowd in what were ugly scenes.

And on Friday, protesters came out in bigger numbers. It appears the visit of a Russian MP has unlocked much deeper frustrations with the current administration and the way it has handled relations with its northern neighbour Russia.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili called Russia "an enemy and occupier", saying Moscow had helped to stir the unrest.

The Kremlin condemned the protests as "Russophobic provocation". Russia's foreign ministry accused Georgia's opposition of trying to prevent an improvement in bilateral relations in recent years.

What caused the protests?

Mr Gavrilov was taking part in the Inter-parliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) - a body set up by the Greek parliament in 1993 to foster relations between Christian Orthodox lawmakers.

Opposition MPs in Georgia's parliament called for protests in response to his decision to deliver a speech in Russian from the speaker's seat.

About 10,000 protesters later breached the police cordon in Tbilisi, demanding the resignation of the parliamentary speaker and other senior officials. Some were carrying EU flags and placards reading "Russia is an occupier".

Inside parliament, opposition lawmakers demanded that the parliamentary speaker, interior minister and state security service chief all resign over the incident. The session was suspended, and Mr Gavrilov later flew back to Russia.

"That was a slap in the face of recent Georgian history," Elene Khoshtaria, an opposition member of parliament, said.

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