Russia, Turkey Visa Regime Might be Eliminated as Early as April

The visa requirements between Russia and Turkey might be annulled beginning from April 2011, head of Turkey’s Ministry of Culture and Tourism press department Güven Taşbaşı told Interfax news agency.

“The question of eliminating the visa regime for Russian and Turkish citizens was confirmed long ago,” said Taşbaşı. “A respective decision is important for both sides. It’s likely that the number of tourists from Russia to Turkey will increase already this year, at least by 10–15%.”

“We know that with this [decision], we will lose a substantial amount of money that Russian tourists pay to enter Turkey; however, we are confident that the money which they spend in our country will increase and will cover those losses,” said Taşbaşı, adding that the agreement allows citizens of both Russia and Turkey to visit each other’s country for up to 30 days.

Russia and Turkey signed an agreement in May 2010 for the mutual visa facilitation as part of a series of accords signed during Russian President Dmitry Medvedev’s visit to Ankara. “Following the signed agreements’ adoption in Turkish Parliament, the new visa regime will be applied,” the same diplomat said, the Hürriyet Daily News and Economic Review reported Wednesday.