By IANS/RIA Novosti,
Warsaw: Poland has supported the introduction of a visa-free regime between European Union countries and Russia, Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova.
“We are striving to include the citizens of Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, as well as Russia, in a visa-free system,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski said Wednesday in his annual message to parliament.
The minister’s comment came a day ahead of a delegation of European commissioners is expected to arrive in Moscow Thursday for talks that will focus on visas, among other major bilateral issues.
Sikorski noted the positive experience of travel between border regions of Russia and Poland, where since last summer, residents of the Kaliningrad Region, Russia’s exclave on the Baltic Sea, and Polish border regions have been able to cross the border without visas.
He also favoured political integration between the EU and US on one side and Russia and Ukraine on the other, which, he said, would allow the West to retain its influence amid the growing strength of Asian powers.
On March 11, Russia and the EU resolved to continue dialogue on a visa-free regime, with the EU agreeing to discuss visa-free travel for Russian officials who hold special passports.