Russia to seek visa-free regime with Georgia - deputy foreign minister

PRAGUE, November 17. /TASS/. Moscow will ease the visa regime with Georgia to the greatest possible extent and will seek the cancellation of visas, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Grigory Karasin said on Thursday. "We will seek to make a visa-free regime between the two neighboring states to become a rule," Karasin said after his talks with Georgian prime minister’s envoy for relations with Russia Zurab Abashidze in Prague. "It all depends on the situation in the region and coordinated anti-terrorism effort, because our region is a very sensitive one and we need to be cautious." "We will ease the visa regime as much as possible. Currently, a Georgian citizen can travel to Russia on an invitation from any person living in Russia. I think this is the optimal solution," the diplomat added. Tbilisi unilaterally cancelled visas for Russian citizens in March 2012. Russia, in return, has taken a number of measures to ease the visa regime for Georgian citizens. Moscow has repeatedly stressed that introducing the visa-free regime is hindered by the absence of diplomatic relations, severed by Tbilisi in 2008. Read more