Minsk hopes that EU will enter talks on eased two-way travel in near future, official says :: Charter'97 :: News

Minsk hopes that the European Union will enter talks with Belarus on eased two-way travel in the near future, Andrey Hiro, head of the Belarusian foreign ministry`s consular department, told reporters in Minsk on Monday, BelaPAN reported.

He said that Minsk had unilaterally simplified "as much as possible" visa rules for EU nationals three years ago. He said that the EU`s response to the move did not "satisfy the Belarusian side."

Mr. Hiro expressed hope that "common sense will prevail" and the EU will agree to the talks, noting that the European Commission currently considered such negotiations "for some reason" premature.

He said that the matter was particularly topical now that neighboring countries were preparing to join the Schengen treaty on January 1 and significantly raise fees for their visas.

He said that Minsk was engaged in a "constant" bilateral dialogue on the coming increase and considered its response. He warned that it might respond to the higher Schengen visa fees reciprocally but noted that other solutions also were possible and they were "actively" discussed at various levels in Belarus. "We hope that we will find a decision that will be in the interests of nationals of both Belarus and countries neighboring us," he said.

According to Mr. Hiro, a EU citizen can obtain a Belarusian entry visa, including an express visa, right upon arrival at a Minsk airport, whereas Belarusian nationals can get a visa to a Schengen country only by applying to the country`s embassy.

Mr. Hiro revealed that Belarus was currently in talks with Argentina, Malaysia and Venezuela about scrapping bilaterally visas for citizens of the other country. "We are ready for talks with any country for the purpose of simplifying the visa regime," he said.