The introduction by Belarus of visa-free entry for a period of up to five days for citizens of 80 countries arriving through the Minsk National Airport does not pose any risks to the republic and neighboring countries, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said.
“The document was drafted for 1.5 years and was thoroughly verified by all public bodies, primarily from the point of view of any risks to Belarus, our allies and neighbors,” Lukashenko said.
In this regard, he spoke about the information campaign that arose in the mass media on this matter.
“Sometimes you become familiar with these authors’ remarks and you are surprised. These are people who do not understand the essence or fuel tensions on purpose. Most likely on purpose,” the president said.
“A visa-free regime does not mean a cancellation of border control. It has been in place and it remains,” the president said.
“They will definitely check who you are, like they do in Russia – you show your passport and the computer marks it. If you are a normal person, come and live in Belarus for five days. If not, the computer will immediately show that,” he said.
“Therefore, the whining by some neighboring countries is just an attempt to state dissatisfaction by some forces. We have not breached anything here in terms of our domestic legislation. It’s our sovereign right. And we have not breached anything in terms of our agreements with other countries,” Lukashenko said.
“We closely abide by all our agreements. If Russia is concerned, I always say: may God help you serve on the border in such a good manner as it is organized in the Belarusian border guard troops. They still have a long way to go to achieve the level of border control that Belarus has,” the president said.
“We should react to that calmly and do our business. It’s clear why it is being done. Although the work on this document lasted for 1.5 years and was approved by all our neighbors, including by Russia. That is a response to all this speculation,” the Belarusian leader said.
According to earlier reports, Lukashenko signed a decree establishing a visa-free travel regime for foreign citizens on January 9. The document established a visa-free regime for entering Belarus for up to five days when entering through a checkpoint over the state border at Minsk National Airport for citizens of 80 countries. The decree applies to 39 European countries, including the entire European Union, as well as Brazil, Indonesia, the U.S., Japan, and other countries. (Interfax/Business World Magazine)
