Turchynov advocates introduction of visa regime with Russia from 2016

Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) Oleksandr Turchynov is convinced that the visa regime should be introduced by Ukraine with Russia next year.

"In 2014, NSDC decided to introduce the visa regime with Russia and instructed the Cabinet of Ministers to implement this task. The first stage of the task has been implemented. You know that Russian citizens can enter Ukraine only if they have passports for travelling abroad. I'm sure that next year we should introduce the real and rather tough visa control and visa regime with Russia. We have many Ukrainians who are staying in Russia, and one of the reasons why the government does not accelerate the visa regime is that we understand that Russia will at once introduce retaliatory measures," Turchynov said in an interview with Channel 5 TV on Thursday.

He said that the government is tackling the issue now, particularly, the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine.

Turchynov also said that Russian spies woke up on the Ukrainian-Russian border.