half a million and the government is looking forward to their increase as a result of easier visas issuing and the more aggresive promotion of Greece in the Russian market, Culture minister Pavlos Geroulanos said addressing a press conference in Moscow on Friday.
"We had an 55% increase in visas issuing from Russia in 2010, while the number of airport arrivals increased from about 250,000 in 2009 to half a million in 2010," Geroulanos said.
He added that "as regards Russian claims in the European Union concerning the visa, Russia has Greece as its ally" and that "the facilitating of the visits of Russian citizens to the EU must be a focal political direction."
Moreover, he announced that in the coming months three more visa centres will operate in the Russian cities of Kazan, Samara and Krasnajarsk, while their is a possibility that soon major Russian tour operators will be able to function as visa centres.
SOURCE: ANA
