Georgian Foreign Minister in favor of resuming flights to RussiaOctober 5, 2019 - 11:22 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Georgia is in favor of resuming direct flights with Russia, Georgian Foreign Minister David Zalkaliani told reporters on Friday, October 4, adding that Georgia would welcome such a decision from Moscow, TASS reports. "I hope that such a decision (to resume flights - TASS) will be approved as soon as possible. Georgia is ready for this. We only welcome the resumption of this process. My stance is well-known: I have said the same during the meeting in New York (with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov - TASS), as the relations between people and the development of tourism facilitate de-escalation," Zalkaliani said. On October 4, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that Moscow would resume flights to Georgia after Tbilisi ends its hostile policy against Russia. "[The flights resumption can be expected] when the situation is obvious that there is no more return to aggression," Peskov said. The Kremlin spokesman noted that Moscow saw the first positive signals, namely the recent meeting in New York between the Russian and Georgian foreign ministers, Sergey Lavrov and David Zalkaliani. However, he pointed that some politicians in Tbilisi "were up in arms" over this meeting. On September 26, the Georgian top diplomat met with Lavrov on the sidelines of the 74th session of the UN General Assembly in New York for the first time since 2008, when Tbilisi broke off diplomatic relations with Moscow after Russia had recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Since then, there have been no direct regular talks between Russia and Georgia, except the informal Prague Talks between Georgian Special Presidential Representative for Settlement of Relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | Czech-Armenian military cooperation discussed in Yerevan A delegation led by the Director General for the Industrial Cooperation Division of the Ministry of Defence of the Czech Republic visited Armenia. U.S. welcomes efforts to define Armenia-Azerbaijan border The United States welcomes efforts to define the border between Armenia and Azerbaijan, says Vedant Patel. Biden honors resilience of Armenian people on April 24 U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a statement on the 109th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. Ex-Karabakh leader moved to solitary confinement cell in Baku, his son says David Vardanyan is the son of former Karabakh leader Ruben Vardanyan who who is currently imprisoned in Azerbaijan. |