Ukrainian Foreign Minister suggests introducing biometric visas with Russia
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Pavlo Klimkin, spoke in favor of introducing additional control over the movement of Russian citizens in Ukraine, including the biometric visa program with Russia, Interfax-Ukraine reports.
"At the same time, we must understand that we need additional control over the movement of Russian citizens and over everything that the Russian Special Services are doing here, and this is what the changes that will be introduced on January 1st are aimed at," he said at a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.
In particular, the Foreign Minister indicated that beginning on January 1, 2018, the biometric data of foreigners entering Ukraine will be taken as well as the introduction of a requirement to file an application in advance to enter the country.
At the same time, Klimkin stated that he considers the visa policy, should it be introduced for Russia, to be an insufficient measure. At the same time, he stressed the need to simultaneously introduce the requirement for a biometric passport for Russian Federation citizens entering Ukraine.
"Next, we will need to introduce a biometric visa policy since the current visa requirements do not work. We have to monitor every step that is being taken to destabilize the situation in Ukraine," the Ukrainian Foreign Minister stressed.
In July the National Security and Defense Council decided not to introduce a visa requirement with Russia, since this could create problems for Ukrainian citizens in the annexed Crimea.