Russia asks EU to dispense with visa requirements

RUSSIA will press the European Union to scrap visas for its citizens and seek the EU’s help in modernising its economy at a two-day summit beginning today.

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev is hosting top EU officials for talks in the southern city of Rostov- on-Don. The European Union is Russia’s No 1 trading partner, and EU nations account for 80% of all investment in Russia.

Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko urged European leaders to show political will and scrap entry visas for Russians.

“We would like to see our European partners formulate their vision of this issue at the Russia-EU summit. It’s time to make political decisions,” he told Friday’s briefing.

Russia has been unsuccessfully seeking visa-free travel to Europe for many years, but EU nations point to the violence in Russia’s volatile north Caucasus region and the nation’s porous borders with its ex-Soviet neighbours as reasons for the border controls.

Grushko argues Russia has met European demands, particularly by signing agreements with EU nations on repatriation of illegal migrants.

Unlike a few years ago, Russia is now anxious to attract foreign investments and seeks closer co-operation and more transparent borders with the EU.

As the global downturn weighed down on oil and gas prices, Russia, a leading energy exporter, has shown a stronger interest in modernising its economy. Russia and the EU are working on a partnership deal that would help Russia to gain easier access to western technology, something that prime minister Vladimir Putin has described as a turning point in the bilateral relations. In return, Europe expects Russia to crack down on corruption, strengthen the rule of law and conduct other reforms.

It is not clear, however, whether Russian leaders are poised for such profound changes.

“What Russia needs and wants most clearly is the economic support that would allow the current system of political and economic management to keep going and eventually make it through this crisis,” said Sam Greene, a political analyst at the Carnegie Moscow Centre.