Russia-EU dialogue on easing visa procedures underway — diplomat

Visa dialogue with the European Union has not yet been resumed although Russia is successfully working in this area with a number of EU countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said on Tuesday. According to the Russian diplomat, a number of European Union countries, which are interested in receiving tourists from Russia, are taking "various efforts within the current European laws to encourage Russian tourists to visit those countries." "For instance, our tourist flow to Greece has jumped up by 523%, or more than five-fold, in the past year," he said. "Naturally, it took our Greek partners great efforts. Now they are working on the idea of long-term multiple visas." Another such example, in his words, is Spain. "Spain is among most attractive countries for Russian tourists," Meshkov said. "Thus, on the occasion of the current cross year, the Spanish cancelled visa fees for children under 16.".