Deputy Interior Minister: Claims of increased influx of passengers from Russia are manipulative and misleading

Georgia’s Deputy Interior Minister Aleksandre Darakhvelidze said that manipulative and disinformation-based reports have been circulating in the media claiming that the number of passengers entering Georgia through the Georgia-Russia land border has recently increased.

According to Darakhvelidze, the claims are false and aim to provide the public with misleading information.

“First of all, we would like to clarify that passenger flows generally increase during the summer due to the tourist season. In addition, the data cited by certain media outlets includes both the number of passengers entering and leaving Georgia. It should be noted that the number of people leaving the country exceeds the number entering.

“This figure is also being used to manipulate the public, as if it represented the total number of Russian citizens. Of course, that is not true. The data includes the combined number of citizens of the Russian Federation, Georgia and other countries, including Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan and others.

“We want to reassure the public that these figures, which are being circulated speculatively and with the aim of misleading people, are not connected to any kind of threat. The Interior Ministry and every state agency are doing everything possible to facilitate the entry of tourists while ensuring the security of our borders and making sure that any person who may pose a threat to national security is identified in a timely manner and denied entry,” Darakhvelidze said.

He called on the public to verify information through official sources and not rely on data circulated “speculatively and manipulatively” by certain media outlets.

According to the Interior Ministry, between August 17 and 24, a total of 52,953 people entered Georgia through the Larsi border crossing, while 61,691 people left the country.