Opinions & Interviews

MINSK, 21 November (BelTA) – A Russia-Belarus agreement on mutual recognition of visas can be signed during a meeting of the Council of Ministers of the Belarus-Russia Union State in mid-December this year, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the media in Minsk on 21 November, BelTA has learned.

“We are responsible for the negotiations on the so-called visa agreement. The last round was held literally a few days ago at the level of the delegations. The delegations consist of representatives of other ministries and departments. Another opportunity to reach the final agreement will be the end of November - early December when experts of the joint working group on migration issues review the outstanding issues. Some technicalities still remain. The latest round saw good progress. We hope to submit this draft agreement for singing on 13 December when we are planning to conduct the Union State Council of Ministers meeting,” Sergei Lavrov said.

When asked about whether the countries will need border checkpoints once the agreement enters into force, Sergei Lavrov noted that he is not aware of the issue. “I know that the agreement which is currently in the pipeline will remove all concerns for both the sides.”

As the TASS News Agency reported on 14 November, during the meeting with Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, Smolensk Oblast Governor Aleksei Ostrovsky suggested setting up an international checkpoint for foreigners on the border with Belarus. The parties discussed the organization of an international checkpoint for foreign citizens in the village of Krasnaya Gorka on the border of Smolensk Oblast and Belarus.