Russia has declared the Georgian Derva party an undesirable organization.
The Russian Prosecutor General's Office declared the Georgian opposition party "Drua" an undesirable organization, claiming its "clearly Russophobic position". According to the press service of the Attorney General's Office, representatives of "Droa" oppose the normalization of political, economic, cultural and humanitarian relations between Georgia and Russia, demand the reinstatement of the visa regime for Russians and the cessation of direct flights between the two countries.
The prosecutor's office also accuses the party of considering Abkhazia and the Tskhinvali region as territories occupied by Russia, and accuses Moscow of violating international law and Georgian sovereignty. According to the department, the activity of "Drua" is aimed at "exposing the connections between the ruling elite of Georgia and Russia", to dismantle the one-party system in the country and to popularize the idea of accelerating integration into the European Union.
The leader of the party, Elena Khushtria, was also criticized, accusing the ruling Georgian Dream of supporting a pro-Russian course and trying to isolate Georgia from the European integration process. According to the Russian Prosecutor's Office, "Drua" also supports the Ukrainian authorities and advocates Georgia's entry into the "Carpathian Eight" - a format of regional and economic cooperation for the countries of Central and Southeastern Europe connected by the Carpathian region.
In itself, the decision of the Russian Prosecutor General's Office is a legal act, which, however, is unlikely to be able to really affect the activities of the Georgian party operating on the territory of Georgia according to Georgian laws. Another thing is much more important: the declaration of Darua as an undesirable organization actually confirms what has been said for a long time in Tbilisi - this party openly and consistently opposes any form of normalization of relations with Russia, demands a visa regime and the cutting off of air traffic, and also calls for accelerated European integration at any cost.