The international flights cannot be carried out in the occupied Abkhazia region, in particular, at Sokhumi Airport, as it contradicts international law, the rules of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the Georgian legislation, – the Ministry of Georgian Foreign Affairs responds to the information released by Russian media on the possibility of launching international flights at Sokhumi Airport.

“According to the Georgian Law on Occupied Territories, the Abkhazian region and its airspace are subject to a state of emergency, a special legal regime, which bans international air traffic in the occupied territories.

The International Civil Aviation Organization, naturally firmly supports the sovereignty, territorial integrity of Georgia and the unity of Georgian airspace. According to the charter of ICAO, Sukhumi Airport and the corresponding airspace have been closed since 1993. Thus, in the occupied region of Abkhazia (in particular, at the airport of Sukhumi) international flights cannot be carried out, since this is contrary to international law, the rules of ICAO and the legislation of Georgia. The Georgian transport administration will use all available levers, including international mechanisms, in order to respect international and ICAO standards”, – the Georgian Foreign Ministry said.

On July 26, the Civil Aviation Agency released a statement which says that international flights cannot be carried out at Sokhumi airport without corresponding permission of Georgia, and unless the Georgian side will ensure monitoring of the movement’s security.