Russia may soften visa regime for Georgian citizens
Russia may soften the visa regime for citizens of Georgia, says Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin, according to the Voice of Russia.
He met in Prague with Georgia’s special envoy for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze. According to the Russian diplomat, the Georgian side is interested in easing the visa regime, which is currently rather stringent due to lack of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"Recently, we have expanded the possibilities for different categories of Georgian citizens to visit the Russian Federation. We shall try to figure out how else we can ease the regime,"said Karasin.
Diplomatic relations were severed by Tbilisi after Moscow recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia in 2008. Georgia's new parliament, elected in October last year, named normalizing relations with Russia as one of the top priorities of its foreign policy.