MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. Russia has issued 120,000 electronic visas in the past five months, nearly half of which went to Chinese applicants, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said during an appearance before the Federation Council (upper house of parliament, or "senate").

"Since August of this year, we have introduced <…> a unified electronic visa, applicable to 55 countries. Over the past five months, more than 120,000 people have utilized it. For a new instrument, this is a significant figure. Almost half [of such visas] were issued to applicants from China," Russia's top diplomat told the senators.

The foreign minister also stated that India accounted for about another 10,000 e-visas. "The Saudis, the Turks [have also used such visas]. Certainly, this will further stimulate inbound tourism. At this stage, it was decided to limit these steps for now."

"Nevertheless, these visas already create quite convenient conditions for those wishing to visit us. At least, everyone with whom our respective ambassadors spoke have had high praise for the electronic visa," the top diplomat noted. "In any case, life never stands still. We are also working toward a visa-free regime for group tourism with the People's Republic of China. This process will continue.".