Russia to scrap visas for georgians if law lifted

Russia has said it is ready to scrap visa requirements for Georgians if Tbilisi lifts a controversial law penalizing Russians visiting its breakaway regions of Abkhazia and South Ossetia. "When [Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili] declared that every Russian can enter Georgia without a visa, he forgot to point out that Georgia has a law about occupied territories whereby any person who has visited south Ossetia or Abkhazia since the [2008] war, which was begun by Saakashvili, is subject to criminal proceedings in Georgia, with a possible prison term of two to four years," Sergei Lavrov told the lower house of parliament on Wednesday. "Our citizens should know where they are going and what they are facing," Lavrov said. The Russian foreign minister's comments came in response to Saakashvili's announcement last month of his "new initiative" to abolish the visa regime with Russia. Tit-for-tat visa restrictions were imposed in 2000 but Georgia eased requirements in 2004, which allowed Russians to receive visas on arrival in the country. Russia-Georgia relations have been at a low since the August 2008 war over South Ossetia. However, the two countries signed a landmark trade deal last year, which allowed Russia to join the World Trade Organization after 18 years of negotiations.