Putin’s spox: Russia not to use illegal restrictions against Georgia

MOSCOW, Jun 24 (PRIME) -- Russia has no plans to use any illegal restrictions against Georgia, while President Vladimir Putin’s ban on flights to the country is a forced and temporary measure, Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Monday.

Protests swept Tbilisi on June 20 to oppose participation of Russian delegates in a session of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy. Late on June 21, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree prohibiting domestic airlines from flying to Georgia from July 8 following the extremist activities that are taking place in the country.

Previously, Moscow repeatedly said that it was against sanctions and imposed them only in retaliation. When asked whether Moscow used another principle in the case with Georgia, Peskov said, “No, this is not another principle. First, you have probably paid attention that I am speaking about restrictions and limitations. We say that these restrictions are forced.”

Russia does not plan to follow the example of other states and use illegal sanctions, as the current restrictions are not sanctions. “They were actually forced…President (Putin) has to think about security because he is the president of all Russians, so he made this decision. The existence of a direct threat for Russians is the reason for these temporary restrictions,” he said.

Moscow will consider lifting the restrictions from Georgia after it stops being a Russophobic state, he added.

The Federal Service for Consumer Rights Protection and Human Welfare Oversight said in a statement that it tightened control over imports of alcoholic drinks from Georgia because the quality of the product had worsened. Peskov said that the tighter control was not connected to the flight restrictions.

“It has nothing to do with security. There is no political conflict here, this is about preventive measures that ensure safety of our citizens. The service fulfills its duties as it constantly checks the quality of products supplied to our country from many states. Other countries do the same with our products that we supply to them,” he said.

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