Vladimir Putin said on Friday that he was “completely surprised” by anti-Kremlin demonstrations in Georgia as Russia restored air links with the pro-Western country, AFP reported.

Dozens of Georgians protested outside the airport in the capital Tbilisi last week as a Russian airliner landed in the former Soviet republic for the first time since 2019, amid a Russian offensive in Ukraine that the West is trying to contain.

“To be honest, I was completely surprised by such a reaction,” the Russian president said at a meeting with businessmen.

“I thought everyone would say, ‘Well, thanks, that’s good.’ But no, there was an absolutely incomprehensible uproar about this,” continued Vladimir Putin in front of the cameras.

“When I look at (it) from here, I think, ‘they’ve gone crazy, it’s not clear what’s going on there,'” he said again.

In 2008, Russia fought a short but bloody war against Georgia, and anti-Russian sentiment runs deep in the country.

In response to anti-Moscow protests in Tbilisi, Russia banned air travel with Georgia in 2019.

But this month, Putin unexpectedly lifted that ban and gave the green light to introduce a 90-day visa-free regime for Georgian citizens coming to Russia.

The Russian head of state said on Friday that he understands that Georgian leaders have “repeatedly” asked Russia to lift the ban on these flights and this new visa policy.

At the same time, he assured that Moscow will not interfere in Georgia’s internal affairs.

“What happens inside the country is none of our business,” he said, adding that the Georgian people should choose their own path.

Last week, protesters in Tbilisi held placards that read: “You are not welcome” and “Russia is a terrorist state.”

Georgian authorities have been accused of colluding with the Kremlin after years of tensions, while the government insists it must maintain economic ties with Russia.

Georgian Airways resumed direct flights to Russia, drawing criticism from Ukraine and the European Union.

The EU has expressed regret that Georgia is resuming flights to Russia at a time when the bloc closed its airspace to Russian planes in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The world is isolating Russia to force it to end the war, but Georgia welcomes Russian airlines and sends its planes to Moscow. At the same time, 20% of the territory of Georgia remains occupied by Russia with impunity,” said the spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. Oleg Nikolenko, on Twitter.

Protests rocked the country in March after lawmakers decided to pass a Russian-style bill that would require NGOs that receive more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad to register as “agents of foreign influence.”

Brussels said the plan was incompatible with EU membership, and the bill was later withdrawn.