Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has said Yerevan does not rule out taking its dispute with Russia over the management of the South Caucasus Railway to an international court if the issue cannot be resolved through negotiations. At the same time, he stressed that the Armenian authorities hope to settle the matter through talks.
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.