Iran will introduce a visa-free regime with Russia as soon as Moscow expresses such a desire. Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali spoke about this in an interview with RBC .
“If Russia, like us, would declare that there is such a readiness, we can announce a visa-free regime in a short time. From the point of view of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I, as the representative of Iran, can say that there is such a complete readiness on our part,” Jalali said.
Russia and Iran signed in 2017 an agreement on a visa-free regime, which provides for the possibility of trips by organized tourist groups of up to 50 people for up to 15 days without entry documents. This regime was supposed to come into force on January 1. However, at the beginning of the year, travel companies stated that Russian tourists still need a visa. “Nothing is heard at all: applications have been collected – and silence,” confirmed the head of Space Travel Artur Muradyan.
Jalali stressed on January 12 that “visa facilitation” for tourists is one of the issues the embassy is currently working on.
Announcing a visa-free regime in September 2022, Leyla Ajdari, head of the marketing and tourism development department of the Iranian Ministry of Culture and Tourism, said that Moscow and Tehran should submit lists of travel agencies to each other that will serve tourists from both countries. According to her forecasts, the visa-free regime for tourists was supposed to start on January 1, 2023. The arrangements were to last until the end of 2023 with the possibility of extension.
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, a visa-free regime for Russians operates in several dozen countries. Among the states of Europe, these are, in particular, Serbia and Montenegro, Asia – Israel and South Korea, Africa – Morocco and Namibia. In November, President Vladimir Putin instructed the government to prepare proposals to establish a visa-free regime with foreign states “without regard to the principle of reciprocity.” Speaking at the Valdai Forum on October 27, Putin explained that “friends of Russia” are the countries of Africa, Latin America, as well as some states of Asia.
Source : Moscow Times