Georgia says Moscow’s restoration of visa-free regime 'another provocation’

ISTANBUL

Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili on Wednesday said that Moscow’s decision to restore its visa-free regime with Tbilisi was “another Russian provocation.”

“Another Russian provocation! Resuming direct flights and lifting visa ban with Georgia is unacceptable as long as Russia continues its aggression on Ukraine and occupies our territory,” Zourabichvili wrote on Twitter.

Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed two decrees that restored his country’s visa-free regime with Georgia, effective from May 15, and lifted a ban on the flights of Russian air carriers to the country.

Commenting on the decree, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said the foreign service cancels its recommendation to refrain from trips to Georgia but calls on Russian citizens to be cautious while visiting this country.

She also said that the decisions on the resumption of flights and the restoration of a visa-free regime for short-term trips of Georgian citizens to Russia are part of Russia's "principled approach of consistently facilitating the conditions of communication and contacts between citizens of Russia and Georgia."

Russia banned direct flights with Georgia in 2019, following protests against the invitation of the Russian delegation to participate in the plenary session of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy, held in the Georgian Parliament in Tbilisi.​​​​​​