Belarus to introduce visas for citizens of Georgia
Belapan news agency
9 Jun 05
Minsk, 9 June: Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka has adopted
a decision to introduce a visa regime for Georgia.
The Belarusian leader’s press service reported that the decision by
the head of state “was prompted by the necessity to continue efforts
aimed at stepping up the fight against organized and transnational
crime and the defence of interests of third countries – Belarus’s
neighbours in this area – in accordance with existing agreements”.
In particular, the press service notes that attempts by Georgian
criminals to use the territory of Belarus for entering Russia without
appropriate visas are increasing. The press service said that Russian
law-enforcement bodies has drawn up a list of foreigners who committed
crimes in Russia and who are banned from entering the Russian
territory. Georgian nationals account for almost 25 per cent of the
names on the list.
The chairman of the Belarusian State Border Troops Committee, Lt-Gen
Alyaksandr Pawlowski, said at a news conference on 26 May that
citizens of Georgia and Armenia who cannot enter Russia legally have
been trying to do so via Belarus by flying to Minsk from Tbilisi and
Yerevan recently. He said he referred to individuals banned from
entering the Russian Federation for various reasons. Belarusian
border guards also have such lists. Therefore, Pawlowski said, border
guards have to send six to eight Georgians and Armenians back to
Tbilisi and Yerevan every week.
[Passage omitted: Turkmenistan, Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
withdrew from the CIS agreement on visa-free travel of CIS citizens.]