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Russia and Belarus seek to create common visa space

There are some guesstimets on the final document, state secretary of the Union State of Russia and Belarus Grigory Rapota said

MINSK, November 22 /TASS/. Moscow and Minsk are ready to create a common visa space within the framework of the Union State of Russia and Belarus, Grigory Rapota, the Union State’s state secretary, said after a joint meeting of the Russian and Belarusian Foreign Ministries on Tuesday.

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"The idea has gripped public opinion. People realize that something should be done about it (visas) and understand what mechanisms should be used to achieve that goal. There are also some guesstimates on the final document," Rapota went on to say.

Asked if temporary checkpoints for third countries’ citizens could be opened on the Belarus-Russia administrative border, Rapota said that the idea was absolutely realistic. "Should we really do that? It meets the letter of our agreements but doesn't fully correspond with its spirit," he stressed.

"We seek to create an open space in which the citizens of our two states and representatives of third countries could move freely," Rapota explained, adding that any restriction might produce an adverse reaction.

"But in principle, the idea (of checkpoints) does not contradict any of our agreements (between Belarus and Russia)," the Union State’s head clarified.

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Belarus Visa regime Trade & Cooperation

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