Georgian’s visiting Russia increases by 40%

A 40 percent increase in the number of Russian visas was issued to Georgian citizens in 2013, latest data from Russia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs reveals.

Russia’s Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Grigory Karasin said the country would continue to try to make travel between Georgian and Russian more accessible for the countries' citizens.

"Over the past year, through joint efforts, we managed to improve cultural, sporting and religious connections. We [both country] started bilateral business negotiations, which was blocked by former President Mikheil Saakashvili’s hostile attitude,” Karasin said.

"In 2013, Russia issued 40 percent more visas to Georgian citizens compared to 2012. At the same time, we have a more flexible approach to issuing visas for private visits of citizens and we helped people to maintain family relationships. In the future, we will try to restore travel between the two countries to make travel more accessible.”

Besides the positive points, there were some negative factors relating to visa liberalization between Russia and Georgia, Karasin said.

"Among the negative factors, first of all, there is the absence of diplomatic relations between Russia and Georgia. Another problem is limited consular personnel in Russia’s section in the Swiss Consulate in Georgia”, Karasin added.

This information was leaked by Russian news agency RIA Novosti. It said 40 percent more Georgian citizens visited Russia but did not give exact figures.