Prepared by Messenger Staff
Zakharova Accuses West of Steering Georgian Politics, Urges Georgians to Visit Russia
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the West of using grants to influence Georgian politicians and urged Georgians to visit Russia to see the countries' relationship for themselves.
"Come to Russia and find the answers to these questions yourselves," Zakharova said at a September 15 briefing.
She said the removal of visa requirements and restoration of direct flights had made travel between Georgia and Russia easier. Zakharova encouraged Georgians to speak with Russian citizens and visit theaters, museums and restaurants, including to compare Georgian cuisine in Moscow and Tbilisi.
She also suggested reading Russian history textbooks to see how Georgia and the two countries' shared history are presented.
Zakharova accused Western countries of encouraging Georgian politicians to pursue Western rather than Georgian policies and claimed the West had contributed to the Georgian-Ossetian conflict.
"Western propaganda will never say how, through Western grants, it 'encouraged' politicians who pursued Western rather than Georgian policies in Georgia," she said.
Saakashvili Accuses Georgian Dream of Tying Georgia to Russia
Jailed former President Mikheil Saakashvili accused the Georgian Dream government of deliberately making Georgia dependent on Russia, rejecting criticism of his own policy toward Russian tourists after the 2008 war.
"Tying Georgia entirely to Russian tourists is an act of sabotage by the Georgian Dream," Saakashvili said in a statement posted on social media. He said his government allowed Russian tourism in limited numbers and under strict control, while using tourism as a way to expose Russian visitors to Georgia's reforms.
Saakashvili said Russian tourists accounted for less than 20% of total arrivals in 2012, while his government was rapidly expanding tourism from Europe and the United States. He pointed to promotion through CNN and BBC, an agreement with Royal Caribbean to bring American tourists to Batumi, and plans to develop Tetnuldi as a major ski destination for Western visitors.
He accused Georgian Dream of disrupting the Royal Caribbean agreement, halting the Tetnuldi project, ending advertising on Western television and damaging Georgia's international image.
Saakashvili also said the government had shifted Kutaisi Airport toward Russia and increased Georgia's economic dependence on Russia in tourism, trade, logistics and energy.
"This would have been completely impossible under my economic policy," he said.
