- Maria Zakharova, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information and Press Department Director is with us.
Maria Zakharova: Hello!
- Hello Maria! The MFA just called for Russian citizens to refrain from visiting Georgia. How dangerous is it there? What is your take on the situation?
- Well, I am currently on vacation, but close by in the region. I am in Sochi. I didn't sleep last night and this morning because my phone has been ringing this whole time from the media and journalists. Also from those that do business in the country, including tourism companies. And anyone that is connected to Georgian trips, and they all had one question. What to do? Can we go there? What are your recommendations? People are in shock. Complete shock. It's not a shock for politicians, it's a shock for regular people. And in my opinion, based on what I read, heard, and what I've been told, this is the biggest shock for the Georgian diaspora in Russia. Because, I'd like to remind you all, besides the political situation in Georgia that any sovereign people and any sovereign government have rights. And even though any people can do as they please with their lives and their fates, what we witnessed and saw today in the past 24 hours is the largest provocation, that I thought the Georgian people wouldn't fall for. And not just the people, but also the government. But it turns out I was wrong. This is a huge and dirty provocation. This provocation was created very quickly by amateurs. A huge number of people were mobilized. Any means were used. Fakes, disinformation, lies. Blatant lies. Persuasion and blatant instigation. People were mobilized to the streets — old, young, anyone will do! The people were told that those that arrived were conquerors and invaders. That those that arrived personally shot at Georgians. These are lies. Blatant lies. All of this can be summed up by one word: disinformation.
The goal is clear: to destabilize the situation in Georgia. To start political battles. To start a power struggle. To redistribute power there for the nth time. How many times have we seen this? I'll repeat again, any people have the right to decide their political fate, but here the situation affects us too! How many Georgian refugees did our country accept in the '90s from Georgia? How dare these people... These young people, these young people who know nothing, are coming out with banners that just... I don't even have the words for those banners that they have against Russia. Russia accepted so many refugees and citizens of this country. Russia gave them jobs! Russia protected them! Russia gave them a chance to live, to work, to raise their children. Russia didn't abandon the people in the '90s. And I don't say this just as a person who is involved in foreign affairs. I say this as a person, who in one year became a neighbor of several Georgian families. And now they walk around with these horrible banners. And now they say "Russia Kills" and other slogans.
No one was even thinking about Georgia yesterday. We were too busy with the Presidential Direct Line and buy with our internal affairs. Who gave them the right to talk about Russia? Russia has nothing to do with this. If they can't figure out how to solve their own internal issues, then how are we to blame?
And another point to make about this recommendation that we were forced to give. Take a look. On the one hand, we can't ignore and not give this recommendation. Look at what they're doing to their own people. Look at how they're shooting their own people. Georgian citizens! Georgian citizens killing other Georgian citizens again! What can we say about citizens of other countries? Look at how many journalists were held and arrested. Just so that they don't show the real situation there. The bloodshed there. Is this the first time we see this? No, not the first time! We've seen this several times in the past decades. We had to give this recommendation! We know too well what this provocation could lead to in regards to Russian citizens. At the same, time we understand that this is a provocation. We understand that people want to live in peace. That regular, hard-working people want to build mutually beneficial relationships with their neighbors, including Russia. These people have family, friends, relatives in Russia. What should they do? There's a dilemma.
And once again, we wait for Georgia's official reaction. At this point the Georgian President should have come out and said: I, as the President, by the powers given to me by the people, with my Presidential decree, and my personal authority as a politician, guarantee that this mess will end, guarantee the safety of any foreign citizen and person that comes to Georgia. She should've condemned what happened, and called things as they are!
- But instead of this, she called us "an enemy".
- But she said that Russia is the aggressor. What does Russia have to do with any of this?
- Thank you. Thank you.
- That's why we gave those recommendations. "Russian citizens shouldn't visit Georgia," that was the recommendation that was given right after the words of the President of Georgia. She gave no guarantees of safety.
- Thank you! No guarantees for Russian citizens in the country. Thank you Maria Zakharova. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information and Press Department Director just confirmed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' recommendation for Russian citizens to refrain from traveling to Georgia. This recommendation is obvious and understandable.
