KIEV, May 22. /TASS/. The majority of deputies representing the Pyotr Poroshenko Bloc caucus in the Verkhovna Rada national parliament have spoken against the introduction of travel visas for the Russian citizens, Alexei Goncharenko, a deputy chief of the caucus said on Monday.
"Different opinions were voiced at a session of the caucus today but most speakers were against the initiative or the fellow-deputies who spoke for the introduction of visas," he said. "However, we didn’t take any decisions."
The Poroshenko Bloc may discuss the initiative in more detail and formulate its position on the issue at a meeting on Thursday, May 25, Goncharenko said.
"This was a preliminary discussion," he said. "We didn’t take any decisions and this item is not on the agenda of discussions for this week. I don’t rule out we’ll take it up again on Thursday."
Many speakers voiced doubts over the benefits the introduction of visas for Russian citizens.
"Also, it is clear Russia will retaliate with the introduction of travel visas for Ukrainian citizens and this means we’ll have to open Russian consular sections in the administrative centers of our regions," Goncharenko said, admitting that many Ukrainians would run into problems trying receive a Russian visas.
On the whole, the idea of introducing a visa plan in relations with Russia has many cons while its pros are far from obvious, he said.