"Georgia is a rare island of freedom" | Davitashvili said, that 20-25,000 Russian citizens have entered the country

"It is not true that a large number of people come to Georgia, and that it is a threat" Minister of Economy Levan Davitashvili said regarding the arrival of Russians to Georgia. According to him, about 20-25 thousand Russian citizens entered the country.

"I do not remember the exact figure, but the Minister of Interior will have more detailed information which he will make public. We talked about it, among other things, at a meeting in the government with our colleagues. That statistic interested us all. This was the rank that we had in 2020," Davitashvili said.

He said the Ministry of Internal Affairs and a separate minister will provide information on the subject to the public.

As for restricting economic activities for Russians, the minister said that all regulators are "vigilant" to ensure that sanctioned individuals and their businesses do not enter Georgia.

"Georgia is one of the rare islands of freedom in the region, which for many citizens, including from our neighborhood, is probably interesting because people can do something in the free reality that Georgia is open for. This has been our economic policy for decades, not years," Davitashvili said.

Over the last few days, Russians and Belarusians have been coming actively to Georgia to buy real estate and start a business.