Russia could allow visa-free travel for passengers of a high-speed train linking Finland and Russia, a senior official said, as Moscow presses the European Union to ease travel restrictions.
Russian Railways launched the service between Helsinki and St Petersburg on Sunday, with Prime Minister Vladimir Putin and Finnish President Tarja Halonen attending the ceremony.
"We have submitted our proposal (to lift visa requirements for EU citizens travelling by the high-speed train) and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said the cabinet will review it," said Vladimir Yakunin, chief executive of Russian Railways.
"Will the European Union do the same thing? I am little concerned about that," Yakunin added. Under the proposal EU citizens would be able to stay in Russia for 72 hours without a visa. Four high-speed trains supplied by France's Alstom are expected to carry 250,000 passengers between St Petersburg and Helsinki in 2011 in Russian Railways' first joint international project in partnership with Finnish VR-Group.
EU citizens travelling to Russia complain of excessive bureaucracy when applying for visa while Russians say they face long waiting times and embarrassing questions in the European embassies. Russia has stepped up pressure on the EU to ease visa requirements for Russian citizens travelling to the EU.
"The visa regime is dictated entirely by political reasons. It is an atavism from the past and should be abolished," Putin said on Friday at a joint news conference with Finland's Prime Minister Mari Kiviniemi.
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