Georgia’s accession to the European Union and the joining of sanctions against Russia will be a “heavy blow” to its tourism industry and cause it to lose preferential trade relations with Russia and the CIS countries, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.

“Georgia’s accession to the EU, in view of the destructive demands from Brussels, will be a heavy blow to Georgia’s tourism industry and threaten the maintenance of communication between relatives living in Georgia and Russia - they may lose the opportunity to visit each other normally. In addition, Georgia will have to comply with the energy embargo imposed against our country,” Zakharova said at the briefing.

She also noted that Russia is one of Georgia’s main and most reliable suppliers of oil products and natural gas.

“Joining the EU also means that Georgia will lose its preferential trade regime with Russia and the CIS countries, which are its main export markets,” Zakharova added.

Zakharova also said that the joining of sanctions against Russia would lead to the suspension of air services with Russia.

“These are not just anti-Russian sanctions – these are illegitimate, illegal sanctions imposed in violation of the UN Security Council. What does this mean specifically for Georgia? For example, suspension of air services with Russia and the introduction of a strict visa regime,” she said.

She also said that Russia would have to put Georgia on the list of unfriendly countries if the country joined the EU.

"Russia will have to - I'm not saying we want to do this, but given the new demands of the European Union, we will have to include Georgia in the list of countries with unfriendly regimes and extend our retaliatory economic measures to it," Zakharova said.