Alexander Darakhvelidze: Manipulative disinformation is being spread claiming that the number of passengers entering Georgia through the Georgian-Russian land border has increased recently

According to him, the state is also taking measures to ensure that any individual who may pose a threat to the country’s security is identified in a timely manner and denied entry across the state border.

“Manipulative disinformation is being disseminated by the media claiming that the number of passengers entering through the land border between Georgia and Russia has increased recently. This information is not true and is aimed at providing the public with inaccurate information.

In general, passenger flows increase during the summer period due to the tourist season. The data cited by certain media outlets includes both the number of passengers entering Georgia and those leaving the country. It should be noted that the number of departures exceeds the number of arrivals.

This figure is being used to manipulate public opinion, creating the impression that it represents the total number of Russian citizens, which is not true. The data includes the combined figures for citizens of the Russian Federation, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan and other countries.

I want to reassure the public and state that the data being circulated speculatively is not related to any kind of threat. The Ministry of Internal Affairs and every state agency are doing their utmost to, on the one hand, facilitate the entry of tourists into the country and, on the other, ensure the security of our country’s borders, so that any individual who may pose a threat to the country’s security is identified in a timely manner and denied entry across the state border.

I urge the public to verify information through official sources and rely on the data that some media outlets are disseminating in a speculative and manipulative manner,” Darakhvelidze said.