Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia: 65 Ukrainian citizens who were at the “Dariali” border checkpoint have returned to their homeland

As a result of lengthy and multi-faceted negotiations between the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia and the Ukrainian side, 65 Ukrainian citizens who were at the “Dariali” border checkpoint voluntarily returned to their homeland on a charter flight through a third country, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia said in a statement.

According to the statement, the Georgian MIA ensured the transportation of Ukrainian citizens from the “Dariali” border checkpoint to Tbilisi International Airport, where they were handed over to representatives of Ukrainian law enforcement agencies. In turn, the Ukrainian side arranged their boarding of the aircraft and accompanied them during the charter flight.

The MIA statement also emphasizes that some individuals still remain at Georgia’s state border. The Georgian side continues intensive negotiations with the Ukrainian side and international organizations to organize their safe and voluntary return to their homeland.

“We hope that the process concerning the individuals remaining at the border will not be delayed further, and that in the near future they will be able to return to their homeland.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia once again expresses its full readiness to take all necessary measures within its competence and to assist the Ukrainian side in the process of returning the individuals at the state border of Georgia to their homeland.”

As is known to the public, 87 people who had arrived from the Russian Federation and attempted to cross the state border of Georgia with invalid documents were staying in the so-called neutral zone of the “Dariali” border checkpoint. They claimed to be Ukrainian citizens. In the interest of state security, these individuals were denied entry into Georgia, as all of them had serious criminal records and had repeatedly been convicted of grave or particularly grave crimes. Moreover, they lacked the valid documents required to cross the border and did not meet the criteria for admission to the territory of Georgia.

Over the past months, the Georgian side held a series of working meetings both with the Embassy of Ukraine in Georgia and with representatives of international organizations. To resolve this issue, the network of police attachés was also involved, through which communication was carried out between the police attaché of Georgia in Ukraine and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine.

The Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia, together with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and all relevant state structures, is taking the necessary measures to ensure, on the one hand, the security of the population of Georgia, and on the other hand, the timely organization of the return of those individuals remaining in the so-called neutral zone to their homeland, the MIA statement said.