Estonian foreign minister says no hurry about EU-Russia visa-free space
TALLINN. Dec 20 (Interfax) - Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Paet thinks that there should be no hurry in creating a visa-free space between the European Union and Russia.
Commenting in an interview with Interfax on his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov's call for the speedy signing of an agreement on a visa-free space between Russia and the EU once all of the required joint steps have been implemented, Paet noted that the EU-Russia visa dialogue clearly specifies concrete steps required for a visa-free regime.
"How much time it will take to implement them will depend on how quickly the sides are able to implement them," the Estonian minister said.
Certain doubts still remain inside the EU about visa-free regimes with large countries, he added.
"A couple of years ago, the EU canceled visas for the West Balkan counties. A short time later, some EU member states began grumbling over a sharp rise in illegal immigration. And those were relatively small countries as compared with Russia," Paet said.
The key issue with Russia is how to minimize illegal immigration risks, he added.
"Much will depend on how fast the demands regarding internal security are implemented, and how effectively the already existing agreements, including on the readmission of illegal immigrants and the deportation of illegal immigrants from third countries, who enter the EU from Russia, and vise versa."
"I do not see opportunities for acceleration," the Estonian minister said.
