The President of Georgia, Salome Zurabishvili, allowed a review of the visa-free regime with Russia due to the influx of Russians to the country, which began after

the invasion of Ukraine

, as well as the announcement of partial mobilization in September. 

This was reported by the "News-Georgia" information portal.

"It is possible that we will have to review the visa regime, which in today's conditions is quite liberal and may be less acceptable in the conditions of this aggression. This must be decided by the government together with society," Zurabishvili said.

According to Georgian legislation, citizens of Russia can visit Georgia without visas and stay in the country for up to a year.

However, citizens of Georgia can visit Russia only with visas.

She also added that the recent influx of Russians into the country has become a challenge.

"The main thing is for the public to be sure that all the control mechanisms are in place, there is no danger. For this, I think, more communication is needed, more informing of our society, so that in all relations all possible threats and all possible issues are actually considered by the state, so that all possible measures," Zurabishvili noted.

Part of the Georgian opposition believes that this situation is a threat to the country and requires the introduction of a visa regime from the Russian Federation.

The flight of Russians abroad after the start of mobilization

After

Vladimir Putin announced

the start of mobilization in Russia on September 21, Russian men began to flee, storming the borders of neighboring countries.

Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of the National Security Council, said that

more Russians of draft age were sleeping abroad from Russia

than could be mobilized into the Armed Forces.

Elizabeth Brough, a permanent employee of the American Enterprise Institute, believes that

Putin's mobilization will further undermine the Russian economy

, since Moscow has no plan to replace workers who either fled the country or were mobilized.

Georgian singer Nino

Katamadze said that she does not support the Russians

who began to flee from mobilization to her native Georgia. 

Read also:

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  • You can't run away, you can't stay: how and for how much do Russian evaders flee from mobilization abroad