Head of the Russian Information Center in Goa, Ekaterina Belyakova has on Sunday issued a media release which stated that the Russian Government has not removed India or Goa from the list of safest places for Russian tourists to travel abroad.
The statement made it clear that the Russian authorities have not discussed India or Goa in the list of safe destinations for India.
“In our previous statement we have noted that the Russian Government did not discuss either India or Goa in the list of safe destinations for Russian tourists. However, part of our statement had been misinterpreted by the Indian media”, Russian Information chief Belyakova said.
“As reported by a Russian news agency INTERFAX, the first deputy speaker of the Russian parliament Ivan Melnikov, offered to make recommendations over the new, safe and improved tourist destinations for the Russians tourists such as Cuba and Southern China. This is a quote from the INTERFAX and India is not discussed here”, she added.
“In fact, the main focus of our statement was to show the prospects for Goa, that will open with the black listing of Egypt and Turkey. Goa can be considered as an alternative for over seven million tourists of Turkey and Egypt, if India maintains friendly relation with the tourists from Russia”, the statement concluded.
According to the sources, the Russian Government was not in favor of India due to the reported rude behavior of Taxi drivers and the over priced accommodation in Goa.