Why and who grants Russian citizenship to residents of Kakheti?

"We are still placing a blindfold over our eyes and covering our ears... if we continue being at our ease, Putin may soon annex the entire region of Kakheti from Georgia.”

Russian leader Vladimir Putin has continued rehabilitation of the so-called Avareti-Kakheti road bridging Dagestan with Georgia. Not very long ago, the Avars residing in the region of Kaheti urged the Russian President to extend this road to Georgia as well. They did not even hide their readiness to accept Russian citizenship without even voicing concerns over their move.

With the Kviris Plaitra newspaper, expert Soso Tsiskarishvili has made a comment regarding the political proposal made by the Russian President to the Georgian authorities.

-- We can neither turn down Putin’s public proposal nor pin all our hopes on it. We must simply show restraint and take well-measured steps especially today, when the Russian leader has already brewed his corrupt plan. Unfortunately, we are still placing a blindfold over our eyes and deliberately covering our ears.

--What do you mean?

-- As you know, Putin has started giving out Russian passports to our people in the region of Kakheti, where he plans to build a road. If we continue to be inactive and refuse to enact a law banning them from granting Russian citizenship to our people, we may soon lose the entire region of Kakheti.

As you know, Putin can go as far as he can get away with; therefore, one public proposal made by him means absolutely nothing and changes nothing for us in the end.

According to the expert, the acting Georgian authorities are simply obliged to pursue a trenchant policy and adopt effective measures against their move to grant Russian citizenship to the residents of Georgia.