Israel has told businessmen involved in military sales to Georgia to cease visits to the former Soviet republic for the time being, defense officials said Wednesday.
The decision was made this week because Israel is concerned about damage to its relations with Russia, the officials said.
For the same reason, Israel decided to stop most weapons sales to Georgia even before the Russia-Georgia war last month. At the time, Israeli officials said the policy change was largely driven by concerns that Russia could supply advanced arms to Israel's Iranian adversaries.
In a statement Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said it has not issued a formal travel ban. "The Defense Ministry does not prevent anyone from going to Georgia or forming connections there," it said.
But defense officials acknowledged they were recommending to businessmen with defense ties in Georgia not to travel there at this time. Such businessmen, typically former army officers, need government approval for their activities. Businessmen with ties to Georgia confirmed the recommendation.
The officials and businessmen spoke on condition of anonymity because the recommendation had not been made public. The officials suggested the formal denial was driven by concern about spotlighting Israel's effort to distance itself from Georgia _ a country with which it enjoyed close ties and lucrative defense business in recent years.
Since early August, Israel's official policy has been to sell Georgia only defensive systems.
In the past, Israel provided Georgia with spy drones, electronics for artillery systems and other weapons. Former Israeli generals have served as advisers to the Georgian military, and private Israeli contractors trained Georgian units in urban warfare and counterterrorism tactics.
Other nations, such as Germany, France and the U.S., have rendered similar services to the Georgians.
It appears Israel now has increasingly come to see its ties with Georgia as a liability.
Israel has expressed concern that Russia could sell Iran advanced weapons, particularly the S-300 air defense system. The system would make it more difficult to carry out an air strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, which Israel fears are being used to manufacture atomic weapons that could threaten its existence. Iran's nuclear reactor at Bushehr is being built by a Russian state-run company, Atomstroiexport.
Israel and the U.S. have said they prefer to use diplomatic pressure on Iran, but have not ruled out using military force.
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