The Russian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia announced the start date of the visa-free regime.

The visa-free regime between Russia and Saudi Arabia will become effective in the coming months. This was announced on February 19 by the Russian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Sergey Kozlov.

"It will take some time. But the time is quite short. <… > I think tourists from Saudi Arabia will also be able to look at the summer beauty of Moscow, green and beautiful, without visa restrictions," he said in an interview with RBC.

According to the ambassador, it remains to carry out the necessary state procedures both in Russia and in Saudi Arabia for the full implementation of the initiative. He added that the signing of the agreement was a unique historical event for the countries, as Saudi Arabia did not have such a document with any foreign state.

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Anton Alikhanov, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation, said on February 9 that the visa waiver agreement between Russia and Saudi Arabia would become effective in mid-2026. He noted that the opening of direct flights between Moscow and Riyadh would contribute to the intensification of contacts between the two countries.

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