Russia announced Monday it was cutting all transportation and postal links with the South Caucasus state, apparently in retaliation for last week's arrest of four Russian army officers on espionage charges. It pressed ahead with the plan even after Georgia released the officers later that day.
Georgian Deputy Foreign Minister Nikoloz Natbiladze said the measure was a follow-up on a ban imposed earlier this year on Georgian wine and mineral water exports, and accused Moscow of bringing pressure to bear economically to secure political goals.
"The application of economic levers for political ends is not the first precedent from the Russian side," he said in a statement posted on the ministry's Web site.
In the statement, Natbiladze also dismissed a senior Russian aviation official's claim that Georgian carriers were in arrears for the use of Russia's airspace.
"I would like to underline that the Georgian side complies with all laws and international norms and despite the willful decision of the Russian airlines to cancel flights to Georgia, our airspace remains open for all Russian airfreight companies," he said.
The head of the Russian Federal Air Transportation Agency said Monday the debt totaled more than $3.6 million and that until it was settled, Georgian airlines would not be allowed into Russia.
Georgian civil aviation authorities responded by saying they would protest Russia's decision to suspend air traffic with the International Civil Aviation Organization.
