MOSCOW, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Moscow hopes to lift travel restriction with the European Union (EU) by the end of 2014 or in 2015, a senior Russian diplomat said Tuesday.
Despite the Sochi Winter Olympics, scheduled for February 2014, provides a good reason to introduce a visa-free regime with the EU, Russia does not expect it could be realized before the end of 2014, the Foreign Ministry's Ambassador-at-Large Anvar Azimov told reporters.
He said Moscow would try to initial such an agreement during the next Russia-EU summit which is scheduled for June in St. Petersburg.
"EU must make its final decision. We have made ours. The ball is on the EU's court now," the diplomat said.
On Monday, Azimov held talks with visiting EU Commissioner for Home Affairs Stefano Manservisi. The European official said the EU could not guarantee the introduction of visa-free travels between Russia and the 27-member bloc in 2014.
Manservisi also said Moscow's demand to provide Russian authorities with personal data of European travellers hampered the process of easing visa restrictions.
Azimov was optimistic that Russian and European citizens could eventually travel in a visa-free manner. "This will happen either in the next year or in 2015 the latest," said the diplomat.
In January, Russian President Vladimir Putin criticized the EU's reluctance to lift visa requirements, saying it was thwarting the development of economic relations between the two trade partners.
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