Russia To Relax Visa Rules With 18 Countries, Including Indonesia?

JAKARTA - Russia is discussing easing visa rules with nearly 20 countries, the head of the Foreign Ministry's Consular Department Ivan Volynkin said in an interview for TASS.

"Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working to relax visa rules with foreign countries permanently - currently there are about 18 such states", he said, launching TASS on July 26.

According to Volynkin, negotiations are ongoing with several Latin American and Caribbean countries, as well as Malaysia, China, and Hong Kong.

“The draft bilateral agreement on the mutual cancellation of visa requirements is under negotiation with Malaysia. The Federal Tourism Agency is working with Chinese partners to enhance bilateral agreements on visa-free group travel", the diplomat said.

An extension of visa-free travel is also being worked out with the Hong Kong side", the diplomat added.

Added by Volynkin, Russia currently has very favorable entry conditions for foreigners.

It is known, that Russian President Vladimir Putin when receiving President Joko Widodo's visit to the Kremlin some time ago, had also discussed bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector. With the easing of COVID-19 restrictions and visa-free rules will contribute to this.

Regarding the easing of Russian visas, the spokesman for the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Teuku Faizasyah, said that the nature of the program would be a simplification, not an exemption.

"Regarding the visa easing, we are currently in the process of discussing the following agreements: Agreement between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Government of the Republic of Indonesia on Simplification of Visa Regime for Mutual Trips of Citizens of the Russian Federation and Citizens of the Republic of Indonesia", he explained via text message to VOI.

"So it's a simplification, not a visa exemption. As for the new list of countries that will be relaxed, the information is still under discussion", he concluded.