Opinions & Interviews

MOSCOW, 23 June (BelTA) - Belarus and Russia are starting the consultations on the mutual recognition of visas, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said in an interview with the Belarusian media on 23 June, BelTA has learned.

He remarked that the sides intend to seal a deal on the common visa space. “The first step towards this objective is an agreement on the mutual recognition of visas that needs to be agreed upon. It is likely to require some professional, technical, and expert consultations that we are now starting. When we reach the final agreement, we will make a considerable leap towards the common migration and visa space,” Sergei Lavrov emphasized.

He also stressed that Minsk and Moscow are busy working out common approaches to the migration policy. “A plan of action to develop the common migration space of the Belarus-Russia Union State for 2017-2020 was approved at the session of the Union State government in Saint Petersburg,” the minister recalled.

“An interdepartmental working group was set up long ago to harmonize the migration policies. The group is designed to become the key tool in this matter. It is headed by first deputy ministers of internal affairs. They met literally in April and largely prepared the proposals which were then approved by the prime ministers within the framework of the program on the common migration space. This is an important step towards finding common approaches to this complicated matter since the Belarusian and Russian visa policies in respect of some countries are not fully in sync,” the diplomat clarified.

Sergei Lavrov gave an interview to the Belarusian media on the occasion of the 25^th anniversary of Belarus-Russia diplomatic relations.