MOSCOW, October 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will begin issuing new foreign passports with microchips containing biometric data starting January 1, 2006, the Kremlin press service said Thursday.
President Vladimir Putin signed a relevant decree giving the government three months to draft a law on the new foreign passports and submit it to the State Duma, the lower house of parliament.
According to the decree, old passports will be valid until replacements are issued.
The new foreign passports will help Russia introduce visa-free regulations with countries that are developing similar passport programs, including the United States, the European Union, China, and Japan.
