The President of Georgia called the abolition of the visa regime by Russia a provocation
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Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili called the abolition of the visa regime for citizens of the country by Russia a provocation – according to her, this decision is unacceptable because of the situation in Ukraine. The head of state wrote about this on Twitter.
“Another Russian provocation! The resumption of direct flights and the abolition of the visa regime with Georgia are unacceptable as long as Russia continues its aggression against Ukraine and occupies our territory.
Earlier today, May 10, Russian President Vladimir Putin canceled visa regime for citizens of Georgia. To enter Russia, Georgian citizens will need a passport, a service or diplomatic passport, a sailor’s book, as well as a travel document for returning to Georgia. The measure does not apply to citizens of Georgia arriving in the Russian Federation to work.
The visa regime between Georgia and Russia was introduced in 2000, and in September 2008, after the military conflict in South Ossetia, Georgia severed diplomatic relations with Russia. However, four years later, in 2012, official Tbilisi unilaterally abolished the visa regime for Russians. Citizens of the Russian Federation can stay in Georgia without a visa for up to 360 days. At the end of 2015, Moscow eased the visa regime with Georgia.
In 2021, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Russia wanted to introduce a visa-free regime for Georgian citizens, but this was prevented by a “gross provocation” against Russian parliamentarians in June 2019. Then anti-Russian protests took place in Georgia, the reason for which was the appearance in the Georgian parliament, State Duma deputy Sergei Gavrilov, who, according to the protocol of the Inter-Parliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy (Gavrilov is its president), was given the chair of the chairman of the Georgian parliament. In response to the speeches, Moscow imposed a ban on flights of Russian airlines to Georgia. Today Putin also signed decree to lift the ban.
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