Finland wants visa-free travel with Russia
In his meetings in Sankt Petersburg this week, Finland’s Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb reiterated his interest in visa-free travel with Russia.
In a meeting with Sankt Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko yesterday, Mr. Stubb said that “I consider that the lower barriers between us get, the sooner and better we can achieve a visa-free regime”, Itar-Tass reports.
He also said that he is proud of the flexibility of the Finnish General Consulate in Sankt Petersburg
It is not the first time, the young Finnish foreign minister calls for a visa-free travel regime with Russia. His statements on the issue have trigged controversy in the Finnish political establishment, where scepticism about a more open border towards the big neighbour remains significant.
Finland is today one of the counties in the world which issues most visas to Russians. As BarentsObserver recently reported, Finnish consular authorities the first nine months of the year issued more than 700,000 visas to Russians.
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