Three Russian Journalists Refused Entry to Georgia

Viktor Litovkin, military correspondent of the Russian state news agency "ITAR-TASS", Gennady Bodryugov, President of the International Council of the Association of Russian Society Researchers, and HTB journalist Aleksander Tokarev have been refused entry to Georgia.

Georgia’s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA) says the three men violated the Law on Occupied Territories of Georgia and thus were not allowed to cross the Georgian border.

The men were planning to attend the international South Caucasus media forum, funded by the Russian President’s Foundation, which is underway in Tbilisi on September 5-7.

State Minister for Reconciliation and Civic Equality Ketevan Tsikhelashvili said the MIA had acted within the law when it refused to let the three Russian citizens enter the country.

She noted that the visit of the Russian journalists had not been agreed with any state institution, and added that they also had violated the Law on Occupied Territories of Georgia.

Tsikhelashvili says that in Georgia and also on the occupied territories, Russia is trying to use a variety of "soft power" tools.

“Unfortunately, Russian propaganda is a powerfully financed machine that has entered all democratic states. 10 years ago, no-one could have imagined that the main theme of discussions could be Russia's possible involvement in internal processes of various countries,” she added.

By Thea Morrison