Most of the Russians stuck at the Blagoveshchensk-Heihe checkpoint arrived in China without visas as part of tourist groups, but the tour operators did not ask foreign agencies for help, they reported “Izvestia” November 10 at the Russian Foreign Ministry. The situation in Heihe is being monitored by the Russian Consulate General in Harbin.
“Most of the Russian citizens who ended up in Heihe arrived there without a visa as part of tourist groups. Currently, there have been no requests for assistance from tour operators to Russian foreign institutions in China with a request for assistance.”,” the department noted.
Diplomats emphasized that the government of the Amur region is actively working on alternative routes for the return of Russians to their homeland. The consulate emphasized that, if desired and possible, citizens of the Russian Federation can return to the country through other border crossings, as well as by plane.
The consulate recalled that the cause of problems with border crossing at the Blagoveshchensk – Heihe checkpoint was the insufficient transport capabilities of the Russian carrier.
Earlier, the Russian Union of Tourism Industry reported that tourists were unable to return on time due to weather conditions that made the movement of ships impossible. Instead, they had to use hovercraft with 10 times less capacity.
