MOSCOW, December 13. /TASS/. Russian consular offices have issued over 320,000 visas to foreign citizens for entry into Russia as of November 30, 2023, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated at the session "Public Dialogue" within the framework of the Catherine Forum.

"Over the past year, the figures indicate that as of November 30, our consular offices had processed more than 320,000 visas for entry into Russia. This is almost 2.5 times more than during the same period of 2022, when 140,000 visas were issued," the diplomat said.

The first international Catherine Forum is taking place in Moscow. The event is organized by the Russian-wide public-state organization "Assembly of the Peoples of Russia" and the federal national and cultural autonomy of Russian Germans with the support of the Council under the President of Russia, the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs, the State Duma Committee on International Affairs. TASS is the information partner of the forum.