Speaking to a group of journalists, Aharonovich said "I think that we will be able to sign a bilateral agreement regarding the scrapping of visas. If it doesn't work out, then we will do this unilaterally at the end of the year."
On September 16, the Israeli government approved a special commission's proposal to launch bilateral talks with Russia to end visa requirements for tourists. The Foreign Ministry was also ordered to start similar talks with other states within the former Soviet Union.
Israeli authorities expect the move will help triple tourist flows from Russia to 25 million people a year in the next three years. The Tourism Ministry has said for every 100,000 tourists visiting Israel, 4,000 new jobs are created in the country, bringing in at least $100 million in income.
Speaking to journalists in New York, where he was attending a meeting of the UN General Assembly, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov announced that Russia and Israel had agreed to "start negotiations" over the bilateral scrapping of the visa-regime.
A press release said that Russia and Israel's respective foreign ministries recognized the importance of human contact as a "positive tool in the business of advancing economic cooperation, the development of tourism, and the improvement of the quality of life."
