The decision to restore direct flights will largely benefit not Georgian citizens but Russian citizens, perhaps a million citizens who want to come to Georgia, US Ambassador to Georgia Kelly Degnan said on 19th May.

She argued that it was understandable why the Georgian people were worried, why they wanted to know what price Georgia would have to pay if Russia took further steps to normalise relations with Georgia.

"I understand why the Georgian people are worried about this and why they are worried. According to the latest data, there are about 130,000 Georgians living in Russia, most of them have dual citizenship, and those who wanted to leave Russia did so last year. The decision to resume direct flights will largely benefit not Georgian citizens but Russian citizens, perhaps a million citizens who want to come to Georgia. So it is understandable why people are concerned, why they want to know what price Georgia will have to pay if Russia takes further steps to normalise relations with Georgia, while Russia continues to occupy 20 per cent of Georgia's territory, continues to detain Georgian citizens in South Ossetia, continues to put pressure on that country and continues to attack and bomb Ukraine. So I think the concerns of the Georgian people are justified," the ambassador said.

On 19 May, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili assured that Georgia's European integration would not be threatened by the resumption of flights with Russia. According to him, Georgia is "not yet" a member of the European Union and is therefore not obliged to follow its policies.

"Nothing will be in danger. We are doing everything right, we are explaining it to our European friends. I personally had a conversation and explained the argumentation and the motivation. If we follow the European Union's policy, we should be a member of the European Union, but today we are not a member of the European Union," Garibashvili told journalists.

Peter Stano, the European Commission's spokesman for foreign affairs and security policy, reacted to the resumption of flights with Russia by describing the Georgian authorities' decision to issue flight permits to Russian aircraft as 'disturbing'. Speaking at a briefing on 16 May, he added that Georgia's alignment with EU foreign policy was diminishing: "Unfortunately, the rate of Georgia's alignment with the decisions and declarations of the European Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP) has decreased from 44% last year to 31% this year." He also noted that Georgia should not allow dangerous Russian aircraft on its territory, given its significant security problems.

At a briefing in Washington on 16 May, State Department representative Vedant Patel was asked whether the Georgian Dream government's decision posed a threat to US-Georgia relations. According to Patel, direct flights are a growing concern not only for the United States and other Western countries, but also for businesses if Georgian airports serve sanctioned aircraft.

The State Department representative stressed that while the entire Western world is distancing itself from Russia, it is not the right time to expand relations with it.

Meanwhile, on 19 May, the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency granted another Russian airline (Red Wings) the right to fly directly to Russia. According to the agency, from June Red Wings will operate on the Sochi-Tbilisi-Sochi and Moscow-Kutaisi-Moscow routes.

According to the company's application to the Georgian Civil Aviation Agency, several charter flights will be operated on the Sochi-Tbilisi-Sochi route from 2 June. In addition, charter flights on the Moscow-Kutaisi-Moscow route will be operated three times a week from 2 June.

On 10 May, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a document lifting the ban on direct flights with Georgia, which had been in force since the summer of 2019. Putin's decision came into force immediately after it was signed. On the same day, Putin issued a second decree allowing Georgian citizens to enter Russia without a visa for up to 90 days from 15 May.