Translated material
Friendly discrimination
Russia began issuing visas to certain categories of Georgians
Yesterday Russia made a political gesture towards Georgia, somewhat easing the restrictions introduced in the fall of 2006 . The issuance of visas to Georgian citizens has been partially resumed. Moscow associates this exclusively with humanitarian considerations, but Tbilisi considers this step in the context of the upcoming G8 meeting in Germany, and also associates it with possible negotiations between the presidents of Russia and Georgia within the framework of the informal CIS summit in June in St. Petersburg.Even before the briefing of the Russian consul Valery Vasilyev, scheduled for noon, at which the visa relaxations were to be officially announced, dozens of Georgian citizens, yearning for their relatives and friends in the neighboring country, gathered under the scorching sun at the Russian Embassy in the Bagebi district of Tbilisi. “I haven’t seen my wife, a Russian citizen, for eight months, and I haven’t seen my children,” says Nazim. “Finally we can be reunited!” Grandma Tamara is in a hurry to apply for a visa to travel to her beloved grandchildren. “And I’m going to my husband, he is a Russian citizen, we haven’t seen each other for so long,” Lali rejoices.
Before the political crisis, which peaked at the end of September 2006, Russia annually issued approximately 100 thousand visas to Georgian citizens. After the arrest of four Russian officers on suspicion of espionage, Moscow limited contacts with Tbilisi. The ban on the supply of wines and mineral waters, imposed last spring, was supplemented by the cessation of transport links and the deportation of Georgian illegal immigrants from Russia. Russian visas were issued only in cases of extreme humanitarian need.
Russian Consul Valery Vasiliev said that in response to numerous requests, including from the Georgian Patriarchate, Russia, guided by humanitarian considerations, is resuming the issuance of visas for certain categories of citizens. “The moment is ripe,” the diplomat emphasized. However, visas will not be issued to everyone who wishes to do so. Members of families in which parents, children or one of the spouses are Russian citizens will be able to obtain Russian visas. Visas to travel to Russia will also be available to those who have a temporary residence permit in Russia issued by the Federal Migration Service of the Russian Federation. Answering a question from Vremya Novostey, the consul found it difficult to say how many applicants for a visa could be discussed. Mr. Vasiliev emphasized that the documents will be processed within two days, and the Russian diplomatic mission has enough employees to ensure that there are no queues.
The next question is the resumption of direct flights. It is now possible to get from Russia to Georgia and vice versa only through third countries . Formally, there was no point in restoring flights, since Georgian citizens were not issued visas. According to the consul, it is not yet known when planes will fly from one country to another again. A Vremya Novostei source at the Aeroflot representative office in Tbilisi said that in both March and May, this company’s flights from Moscow to Tbilisi were already included in the schedule, but remained only on paper.
Tbilisi says that Russia's decision to begin issuing visas to certain categories of Georgian citizens may create a positive background ahead of the meeting between Vladimir Putin and Mikheil Saakashvili planned at the CIS summit in St. Petersburg on June 10. The head of Georgian diplomacy, Gela Bezhuashvili, and Russian Ambassador Vyacheslav Kovalenko discussed preparations for it at the Georgian Foreign Ministry. Mr. Bezhuashvili said he welcomed Moscow's decision to resume issuing visas and considered it a "reasonable and timely step."
However, there are also skeptical assessments in Tbilisi. Chairman of the parliamentary committee on external relations Konstantin Gabashvili told Vremya Novostey that “issuing visas only to a certain category of citizens is in some way discrimination against others. And yet I welcome this, even if weak, step by Russia towards warming relations.” A representative of the opposition faction of industrialists, Giorgi Tsagareishvili, told Vremya Novostey that he regrets the “excessive excitement on the Georgian side” in connection with Russia’s decision. “Before negotiations on Russia’s accession to the World Trade Organization, which will be held this week in Tbilisi, Moscow is seeking concessions from us, but we should not give up our last trump card and so easily agree to Russia’s membership in the WTO. Russia wants to be friends with us, issue visas, operate flights - we are ready. If he doesn’t want to, well, they didn’t overcome such difficulties,” said deputy Tsagareishvili.