Putin Tells EU-Russia Summit Visas 'Restraining Factor'

Bulgaria in EU | December 21, 2012, Friday // 15:09|  views

Russian President Vladimir Putin has flown to Brussels for the 30th Russia-EU Summit. Photo by RIA Novosti

The visa requirement is a restraining factor in Russia-EU relations, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday.

Addressing a EU-Russia summit in Brussels, he said Moscow hopes to achieve a "shift" on the visa issue soon.

"I believe this work will advance without any politicization of the issue," he stated, as quoted by RIA Novosti.

"The lack of free communication between people is a restraining factor in the development of our economic relations," Putin said, adding that Russian-EU annual trade turnover is almost 400 B, without specifying the currency.

Moscow has made visa-free travel between Russia and the EU a foreign policy priority.

Russia submitted a draft agreement on scrapping the visa regime to the EU at a Russia-EU summit in 2010, but Europe has so far been reluctant to move ahead with the issue amid concerns that a visa-free regime could lead to a rise in crime and illegal immigration.

Putin is expected to discuss the introduction of short-term visa-free travel for some categories as a step toward the broader liberalization of bilateral visa regulations.

The current summit is the 30th in the history of Russia-EU relations since the bilateral summits started 15 years ago. The previous summit took place in St. Petersburg on June 3-4.

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Tags: EU-Russia meeting, EU-Russia Council, Herman van Rompuy, Vladimir Putin, EU President, Russia, Russian President

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