This is a deliberate xenophobic campaign that is absolutely disgraceful. It does not fit into any norms. If someone wants to be European, they cannot prove it with xenophobia, Irakli Kobakhidze, Chairman of Georgian Dream, said while talking to journalists, responding to the initiative of the Lelo party that due to the arrival of a large number of Russian citizens in Georgia, it is necessary to introduce a visa regime.

According to Kobakhidze, "there is no place for xenophobia in Georgia" and tourism is an important direction of the Georgian economy.

"Tourism is one of the main directions of our economy. A lot of fake information was spread in this regard. In particular, one of the TV channels announced that the number of Russian tourists in Georgia today is 10% of the population of Georgia, which is a complete lie. They are not even 1%. In total, 242,000 people entered and left the country. This is a xenophobic campaign based entirely on lies.

I remind you that the previous government introduced a visa-free regime for Russian citizens after the August war, and today the same people call us to impose restrictions and sanctions. It is xenophobia and we will have a strict response to it", said Kobakhidze.

He also responded to the report recently published by Transparency International - Georgia, according to which Georgia's economy has become even more dependent on Russia's economy.

“None of the reports of Transparency International - Georgia has any value. The head of this organization was directly involved in war rhetoric and campaigning. Their goals are clear and that is why they are involved in the xenophobic campaign. Their goal is only one - to somehow contribute to inflaming the war situation, which we will not allow. We will have a very strict response to such actions", said Irakli Kobakhidze.