Envoy: Iran ready to fully abolish visas with Russia

Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali has said Iran is ready to go for the complete abolition of visas with Russia.

Now the relevant decisions of Iranian officials are awaited to realize this desire in practice, Jalalli said in an interview with Izvestia, TASS reports.

The diplomat noted that Iran and Russia are now "at the very beginning of the way" of implementing the agreement on visa-free group tourist travel.

"As for the complete abolition of visas between our countries, I would like to note that the Islamic Republic of Iran is fully prepared for this step - to abolish visas so that citizens of our states can freely travel to each other. Naturally, we are waiting for relevant decisions from our officials, after which these measures will be approved and put into practice," Jalali said.

The ambassador added that Iran is "happy to invite Russians" to the southern coast of the Persian Gulf in winter because "it is very warm there at this time of year".

"In addition, there are many islands in this part of the country - Kish, Keshm, the ports of Chabehar, the cities of Bandar Abbas, Bushehr, the provinces of Khuzestan, Ahvaz and others. The central part of Iran, where there are mostly deserts, can also become interesting for Russians. Russian citizens are accustomed to forests, greenery, lakes, rivers, but we have deserts in the centre of the country, and you can spend some time there and get acquainted with such nature. Besides, we have many reserves with rare representatives of flora and fauna," Jalali noted.

That Russia and Iran in 2023 plan to implement an agreement on visa-free group tourist trips between the countries, the Minister of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Maxim Reshetnikov reported in March this year.

The agreement was concluded on July 1, 2021. Under it, citizens of the two countries can visit the other country without visas for tourist purposes in groups of up to 50 people for a period not exceeding 15 days. As a result, a visa-free group tourist exchange between Russia and Iran was launched on August 1.