Minsk: Russia introduced a border zone without notification
Russia made the decision to establish a border zone with Belarus without prior warning, as stated by the press service of the Belarusian Foreign Ministry, Maria Vanshina, Belta reported.
"First, the fact that Russia decided to establish a border zone on the border with Belarus without prior notice is contrary to all effective agreements governing the protection of state borders between the two countries and the border crossing agreements," Vanshina said.
According to her, this is not the first such case. A similar situation occurred at the beginning of 2016, when Russia actually began to impose restrictions on the entry of citizens of third countries through the border between Belarus and the Russian Federation.
"Second, it seems to many people that these actions are leading to the restoration of full control over the Belarusian-Russian border, which had been abolished more than 20 years ago. This runs counter to a number of existing agreements that provide the basic principle of open borders between the Republic of Belarus and the Russian Federation," she noted.
The Director of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) ordered to establish a border zone along the border in the Smolensk, Pskov, and Bryansk regions with Belarus.
As previously reported, Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko signed an order approving a visa-free policy for Belarus with 80 countries, including the EU and the United States, which shall take effect on February, 12.
The new rules of entry shall not apply to inbound passengers flying to Belarus from Russia, as well as to those intending to depart to Russian airports from Minsk.