ROME, June 7 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is willing to sign an agreement with the European Union on readmission and streamlining visa issuance, and will be ready to do so as soon as it settles the matter with the neighboring countries, Sergei Lavrov, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, said.
"Our readmission negotiations are underway now with all countries bordering on Russia. Russia will be ready to sign a readmission agreement with the European Union, as well, after the problem is settled. I hope, another agreement will be signed, too - on alleviating consequences and revoking the visa regime," the minister said to a news conference in Rome after negotiations with Gianfranco Fini, his Italian counterpart.
The prospective Russia-EU readmission agreement is to concern Russian nationals alone, he emphasized.
"To establish a Russia-EU visa regime is one of the Road Maps goals. The European Union is alarmed as visa arrangements simplified or removed altogether may throw EU doors open to illegal immigrants, and we see its point," Lavrov said.
As for Russo-Italian visa issuance facilitated for particular categories of the population, that to implement an available agreement, the minister said its signing had spectacularly promoted private trips of Russians to Italy, and the other way round.
"There are certain stumbling blocks on the road to implementing those agreements. We discussed them at the negotiations, and agreed to remove them as soon as possible," the Foreign Minister said.
