On 12 February 2013 Russian Ambassador-at-Large and Senior Official of the Russia-EU Visa Dialogue, Anwar Azimov, met heads of diplomatic missions of EU Member States and the EU Delegation in Moscow.
In a frank and open-minded discussion parties exchanged views on advancing towards visa-free short-term travel regime for Russian and EU citizens.
The Russian side emphasised the urgency of the issue and the need to accelerate implementation of the Common Steps designed to create favourable conditions for introduction of the mutually beneficial visa-free regime.
Russia also expressed its strong will to finalise in the shortest time possible all procedures related to the due implementation of the Common Steps and to proceed to negotiations on drafting a Russia-EU visa-abolition agreement.
