There may be a need to make new decisions regarding a visa-free travel agreement signed between Iran and Georgia, if the issue of deportation or entry ban of dozens of Iranian citizens from the Caucasus country is not resolved, a lawmaker said.
“If Georgia fails to meet the terms of the 2010 agreement and refuses to implement them, our country may decide to revisit it,” Alireza Rahimi, a member of Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, told ICANA in remarks published on Saturday.
Georgia has stopped and deported Iranian travelers at its airports or ports of entry in the last few weeks, although they had the necessary documents, according to media reports confirmed by the Iranian Embassy in Tbilisi.
Rahimi said Iran’s Foreign Ministry is pursuing the matter with Georgian authorities and is expected to submit a report to Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Commission.
“If there is any issue, Georgia should follow it up through legal channels rather than creating tension,” the parliamentarian added.
The Iranian diplomatic mission in the Georgian capital has asked for clarification of immigration laws and regulations, and a satisfactory explanation of the deportations.
Ambassador Javad Qavam-Shahidi said earlier this month that recent practices by the Georgian authorities seemed to differ from those agreed in the 2010 visa-free agreement between the two countries.
The envoy said he had no information to suggest Georgia was considering reintroducing visas for Iranians and that Iran had no intention to do so either, but added that “apparently, there is a need to revisit the 2010 agreement”, OC Media reported.
A large number of Iranians visit Georgia every year or even obtained residence permits and live in Tbilisi.
"Over 262,000 Iranians traveled to Georgia during the first 10 months of 2018," Giorgi Chogovadze, the head of Georgian National Tourism Administration, was recently quoted as saying by Sputnik Georgia.
