Ukraine to fulfill obligations on introduction of biometric passports, says Yanukovych

14:19, 10.10.2012 1 min read

Ukraine is set to fulfill its obligations to the Council of Europe on the introduction of biometric passports, Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych has said.

"I have one wish – I want to fulfill the requirements and the plan of the liberalization of visa travel," the president told journalists in Krushynka (Kyiv region) on Wednesday.

The head of state said that this is also the wish of Ukrainian citizens, as they have to pay "a lot of money" to travel abroad.

"In addition, issuing visas is accompanied by lots of bureaucracy and regular complaints. And we cannot just sit and wait. We have to act," the president said.

Yanukovych added that there are some drawbacks in the law on biometric passports and it could be amended in the future.

At the same time, when asked whether he would sign the law, the president said that he would decide after a relevant survey.

On October 2, the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, passed the law on a single state demographic register that envisages introduction of electronic passports for Ukrainians.