Georgian President denounces Putin's visa-free move as 'provocative'

Russian President Vladimir Putin has waived visas for Georgian nationals and lifted a 2019 ban on direct flights to Georgia, a move that has been denounced by Georgia's president as a "provocation" aimed at undermining the country's aim to join the EU. The two countries have had complicated relations since the Soviet Union's collapse in the early 1990s, and fought a short war in 2008. The issue of the status of two Russia-friendly separatist regions remains a key irritant.