MOSCOW, 27 January (BelTA) – Belarus' visa-free entry for foreign nationals will not pose any problems to Russia, minister counsellor at the Belarusian Embassy in Russia Yuri Yaroshevich said at a briefing for representatives of the foreign diplomatic missions accredited in Moscow on 27 January, BelTA has learned. The briefing was dedicated to Belarus president's decree to ease visa regulations for citizens of more than 80 countries. The decree comes into force on 12 February.
“We do not want to cause any trouble to the Russian side by the implementation of this decree,” Yuri Yaroshevich said.
He stressed that Belarus is transparent as much as possible with regard to the implementation of the decree. “We spent last month holding extensive consultations directly with senior diplomatic staff of the Russian Embassy in Belarus and answered all their questions,” Yuri Yaroshevich said. “As far as I know, the Russian side was satisfied with our answers. And before that, when we were drafting the decree, we also worked closely both with consular services and with law enforcement authorities of both countries.”
Yuri Yaroshevich said that Belarus will keep in close contact with Russian colleagues before the decree comes into force to dispel all their concerns, if there are any. “Considering the unprecedentedly close partnership between Belarus and Russia, I believe that we can solve all the issues that may arise during the implementation of the decree, relating to the work of the foreign ministries, transport ministries, and law enforcement agencies of both countries,” Yuri Yaroshevich noted.
Belarus president's decree No. 8 on the visa-free entry and departure for foreign citizens introduces visa-free entry through the border checkpoint at the Minsk National Airport and visa-free stay in Belarus for up to 5 days for citizens of 80 states. These are 39 countries of Europe, including the entire European Union, Brazil, Indonesia, the USA, Japan, and other countries.
