Russia’s foreign ministry has started visa-free travel negotiations with 11 countries across Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, with potential plans for visa waiver agreements with all Persian Gulf countries being under work.
The Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova shared the news confirming Russia’s plans to expand the list of visa-free countries, VisaGuide.World reports.
Concerning plans to expand the list of countries with which we have mutual visa-free travel, we certainly have them. Currently, negotiations are underway with a number of Asian, African and Middle Eastern countries.
The Russian Foreign Ministry previously revealed that visa-free travel agreements were being discussed for nationals of the Bahamas, Barbados, Haiti, the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, Mexico, Malaysia, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Zambia.
Finland Concerned Over Russia’s Visa-Free Travel Agreements
Jarno Limnéll, a National Coalition Party MP of Finland and also a cyber security expert, explained for Ilta-Sanomat what Russia’s plans to lift visa restrictions for these countries could mean for Finland.
If this is true, it’s certainly aimed at facilitating people’s access to Russia, and one reason may be this hybrid influencing and directing people towards the [Finnish] border.
In March, the Finnish government proposed to establish a €86 million fund, the majority of which will go for the construction of a wall along Finland’s border with Russia in order to prevent irregular migrants from reaching the EU country through Russia.
By lifting visa requirements and allowing nationals of these countries to travel to Russia, Finland is exposed to a surge in the number of people irregularly entering the country via Russia.
Unfortunately, such threats must be taken into account at this time, and we must remember how quickly the situation on the eastern border can change when the snow melts and spring comes. The situation on the eastern border should be taken seriously.
According to Markku Kangaspuro, the director of the Aleksanteri Institute at the University of HELSINKI, by lifting visa requirements for these countries, Russia might be aiming at facilitating hybrid operations related to migrants as well as bringing closer members of the BRICS alliance.
A similar situation occurred in 2021 when Belarus eased visa restrictions for many countries in the Middle East, which led to a migration crisis that year. Belarus directed the migrants forward to the borders of Lithuania and Poland and refused to accept them back.
Hundreds of people died stuck between borders, being pushed back by European authorities on one hand and Belarus on the other side.