Ukraine expects to get visa-free regime with EU earlier than Russia

15:16, 27.11.2012 1 min read

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry believes that the European Union should switch to a visa free regime with Ukraine earlier than with Russia.

"Visa-free travel should be granted first to Ukraine, which has stated its willingness to become a member of the European community, rather than to those countries that do not express a desire to join the EU," the Foreign Ministry's spokesman, Oleksandr Dykusarov, said at a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday.

The Foreign Ministry's spokesman said that Ukraine has expressed a desire to become a member of the EU for a long time, and is making titanic efforts to bring its legislation into compliance with the norms and standards of the union.

At the same time, Kyiv supported the liberalization of the visa regime up to the abolition of visas for both Ukrainians and Russians.

"We deserve this," the Foreign Ministry's spokesman said.