Moscow expects response from London on visas for G8 summit delegation - diplomat
MOSCOW. April 16 (Interfax) - Russia expects to receive a response from the United Kingdom in the near future regarding preparations for a G8 summit, including the issuance of multi-entry visas to members of the Russian delegation, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Vladimir Titov told Interfax.
"We expect to receive substantive answers [from the UK] in the near future on all questions we asked, including the issuance of multi-entry visas," Titov said.
"Britain, as the organizer of the G8 summit as a major international event, bears obligations going beyond the visa limitations that London applies in our bilateral affairs," he said.
"We are currently holding active consultations with Britain on the entire spectrum of organizational and logistical aspects of preparations for the upcoming G8 summit at the Lough Erne Resort, Northern Ireland, on June 17-18 this year," Titov said.
"We sent detailed information to the Foreign Office on the essential conditions of the Russian delegation's work to settle security and event coverage issues at the end of March this year," he said.
"We also set out these aspects thoroughly in a memo that we passed to Britain during the recent G8 ministerial meeting in London. The Brits are saying that our reasons are being worked on," Titov said.
Some media outlets reported earlier that Russia was facing unexpected difficulties in preparing for the summit, as London refused to relax its rigorous visa issuance regulations even for the members of the official Russian delegations to the G8 summit.