Russia ends visa regime for Georgia, lifts flight ban

Moscow, May 10

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Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday abolished visas for Georgian nationals and lifted a 2019 ban on direct flights to the South Caucasus nation, a move that comes amid rocky relations between the two countries and that was quickly denounced by Georgia’s President as a “provocation”.

Putin signed, starting from May 15, Georgian nationals will be allowed to enter Russia without visas — unless they’re coming to Russia to work or to stay for longer than 90 days.

Another decree lifts a ban on direct flights by Russian airlines to Georgia. Following Putin’s decrees, Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a statement lifting its 2019 recommendation for Russian citizens to avoid travelling to Georgia.

Russia-Georgia relations have been complicated since the Soviet Union’s collapse in the early 1990s. — AP