MOSCOW, May 11. /TASS/. Waiving the visa requirement for Georgian citizens is above all a humanitarian decision, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Thursday.
"There were different reactions from Tbilisi yesterday - some negative, some moderate. Yet in this case, of course, we are talking about a humanitarian decision," he said, commenting on Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to lift the visa regime for Georgia.
"For quite a long time, Russian authorities have been receiving appeals from citizens and entrepreneurs of both countries, from public associations, scientific circles, as well as cultural figures who have all been asking to make these decisions. So this was done precisely for humanitarian purposes," the Kremlin official added.
On Wednesday, Putin signed a decree waiving the visa requirement for Georgian citizens, beginning on May 15. In another decree, the president canceled the ban on Russian air carriers performing flights to Georgia and on selling tours to the country.
Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili branded these decisions as provocative, while Georgian Foreign Minister Ilia Darchiashvili said that he welcomed the visa-free travel and direct flights.
The visa regime with Georgia was introduced by a decision of the Russian authorities in 2000. That said, Georgia waived the visa requirement for Russians in 2012. According to Georgian legislation, Russian citizens can visit Georgia without a visa and stay there for up to one year.
Diplomatic ties between the two countries were severed by Tbilisi in 2008 after Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.