( AP )- Moscow agreed Tuesday to restore air travel between Russia and Georgia, more than 17 months after imposing a sweeping transport blockade amid tensions between the ex-Soviet neighbors.
Russia's Transport Ministry said in a statement that it would restore the air link starting March 25, after Georgia agreed to pay a debt for navigation services provided to its planes over Russia.
There was no immediate comment from Georgian officials.
Russia suspended the air link with Georgia in October 2006, severed postal connections, and launched a massive crackdown on Georgian migrants after Georgia briefly detained four Russian military officers it accused of spying.
While Moscow cited financial reasons for the blockade, Russia's relations with its small southern neighbor have been mired in political tensions since U.S.-backed President Mikhail Saakashvili came to power in late 2003, vowing to integrate Georgia closely with the West.
Georgia and Russia have long been at odds over the status of two pro-Russian breakaway regions in Georgia, and Saakashvili's repeatedly stated determination to bring Georgia into NATO and the European Union has irked Moscow.
But the two neighbors have recently made efforts to ease tensions. Russia's President Vladimir Putin met with Saakashvili on the sidelines of a summit of leaders of ex-Soviet nations in Moscow last month, and both governments have moderated their statements.
On Tuesday, Russia's Deputy Transport Minister Boris Krol sent a letter to Georgia's economics minister saying that Russia has agreed to resume regular flights, the Transport Ministry said.
Russia's Foreign Ministry said that the decision to restore the air link came after Georgia had paid Russia's air navigation service $2 million and agreed to pay further $1.7 million through October to fully settle its debt.
It hailed the resumption of air travel as an "important step toward restoring traditional good-neighborly ties" between the two nations.