Belarus, Russia close to signing visa recognition deal

Belarus and Russia may sign a mutual visa recognition agreement already in December 2018, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told reporters in Minsk on 21 November, reports BELTA.

According to Mr Lavrov, the final round of negotiations took plaсe literally several days ago. "The next milestone before the final agreements will be late November - early December when experts are expected once again to review other issues within a working group. There are a couple of technicalities to be finalized," Russian Foreign Minister said. He estimates the signing may take place on 13 December.

When asked by reporters about the check-points at the Belarus-Russia border after the signing of the deal, Mr Lavrov said he was not aware of the border posts in this context. He added the agreement should sort out all the issues from the both sides.

After Belarus introduced the visa-free entry for citizens of more than 80 countries, Russia boosted controls at its border with Belarus. Russia does not allow citizens of third-countries to enter Russia by road. Those traveling from a third-country to Russia by car cannot enter Russia via Belarus, because there are no international border posts between the two countries. On 14 November, the Governor of Russia's Smolensk Region Aleksey Ostrovsky proposed to Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev to set up an international border post at the border with Belarus for third-country visitors.