Georgia may be included in the list of tourist countries friendly to the Russian Federation

Russian tour operators can receive benefits for organizing tours to CIS countries. Georgia is also among the countries friendly to Russians.

The day before, a bill was introduced to the State Duma to reduce the minimum contribution to the reserve fund and the amount of insurance for tour operators.

The list of “friendly” countries has been agreed upon with the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation. It included Georgia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.

In May, Russia abolished the visa regime for Georgian citizens. Bans on Russian airlines flying to this country were also lifted.

Direct flights from Russia to Georgia were suspended in 2019. Russians got there by connecting flights through Minsk, Yerevan, Baku and Istanbul or by land transport.

Georgian President Salome Zurabishvili opposed the resumption of air travel. At the same time, the government and parliament, formed by the ruling Georgian Dream party, supported Moscow’s decision on visa-free travel.

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