Russia, Poland interested to sign agt on cross-border trips for

MOSCOW, June 2 (Itar-Tass) -- Russia and Poland are interested to sign
an inter-governmental agreement that would set the procedure for local
cross-border trips for the residents of the Kaliningrad region of Russia
and adjacent regions of Poland, the Foreign Ministry said.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with Marshall of the Senate
of Poland Bogdan Borusevic in Moscow on Wednesday, June 1, to discuss the
visa issue in the context of the upcoming Polish presidency in the
European Union.
Lavrov and Borusevic exchanged views on a wide range of issues
concerning Russian-Polish relations and "stated with satisfaction their
constructive development in many areas, including positive dynamics of
inter-parliamentary ties, public, youth, cultural and humanitarian
contacts," the Foreign Ministry said.
They praised the work of the Forum of Regions under the auspices of
the upper houses of the Russian and Polish parliaments, the third meeting
of which is taking place in Moscow and research centres outside the
Russian capital, focusing on regional cooperation in the fields of
innovations and high technologies.
Lavrov and Borusevic also discussed the strengthening of European
security, the situation in the Middle East and North Africa, and the
resolution of regional conflicts, the Foreign Ministry said.
The visa facilitation process between Russia and the European Union
can be delayed by its opponents, State Duma Foreign Affairs Committee
chairman Konstantin Kosachev warned earlier.
In his opinion, the visa regime can be simplified technically in the
very near future.
"Necessary technical questions can be solved within a year or two,"
Kosachev said.
"There are supporters of this Russian initiative such as Germany and
Poland, but there are also opponents, and these are convinced opponents
who accept no arguments or logic or common sense, but who continue to
portray Russia as a threat, opponent, problem, enemy, you name it,"
Kosachev said.
"This internal discussion in the European Union, which is being masked
by all kinds of technical difficulties, may delay the resolution of this
issue for 5-10 and probably even 15 years," he said.
"The parliamentarians have full agreement on the issue of visa-free
travel between the Kaliningrad region and the neighbouring provinces of
Poland, and an understanding of how this issue should be solved," he said
after a meeting with his German and Polish colleagues in late February.