Minsk officials surprised by statement on visa regime facilitation

The official Minsk is surprised by the statement that the agreement on simplification of visa regime between Belarus and the European Union is ready for signing, said Belarus Deputy Foreign Minister Alena Kupchyna in comments to RIA Novosti.

On December 9, in Minsk, Gunnar Wiegand, the Deputy Head of the Directorate for Europe and Central Asia, European External Action Service, said that Belarus and the European Union had prepared for signing the agreement on visa facilitation and readmission agreement. According to him, the only issue still discussed is the issue of Belarusian diplomatic passports, which "must meet the same requirements as ordinary passports." Wiegand called it a technicality and said: "We hope that this issue will soon be resolved."

Alena Kupchyna says that these words caused surprise in Minsk. "It is their vision of the situation," she said. According to Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus,  recently the text of the package deal was far from being ready for signing.

Photo: BELTA, Euroradio