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Belarus-Russia agreement on mutual recognition of visas to enter force in late 2020 at earliest

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MOSCOW, 1 July (BelTA) – Belarus-Russia agreement on mutual recognition of visas will come into force at the end of 2020 – early 2021 at the soonest, Belarus’ Ambassador to Russia Vladimir Semashko said at an online press briefing on 1 July in the run-up to Belarus’ Independence Day, BelTA reports.

“This intergovernmental agreement cannot take effect overnight; it should be ratified first and then the exchange of notes should take place. Ratification usually takes three months, the exchange of notes takes one month. We believe that the agreement might kick in at the end of this year or the beginning of the next year in January,” the diplomat said.

The agreement was signed by Belarusian Minister of Foreign Affairs Vladimir Makei and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Minsk on 19 June. Under the agreement, foreign citizens who have Belarusian visas will be able to enter and leave Russia, to go through Russia in transit and stay there. The same way, holders of Russian visas will be allowed to do the same in Belarus. Foreign visitors will be able to travel by air, rail and six roads specified in the annex to the agreement.

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