Russia has agreed to offer visa-free travel to Georgian citizens, to strengthen diplomatic relations with that country, Democracy and Freedom Watch reports. There are however certain conditions, mainly that Georgia must create a reliable legal environment that would guarantee the security of Russians who are visiting.
Georgia has presently a law that stipulated that crossing the border between Russia and the two breakaway republics Abkhazia and South Ossetia is a crime, subject to prosecution. Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili has already signed a decree that offers visa-free travel to Russian citizens, a move criticized as “propaganda” by the First Deputy Chairman of the International Committee of the Russian Duma, Konstantin Kosachev, according to the same agency.