Today it became known that Ukraine and the Republic of Chile intend to abandon the visa regime. Citizens of both countries will no longer need visas for mutual crossing of borders, said the Ukrainian Foreign Minister.
The document on this regime was signed this Friday, April 24, with the participation of Pavlo Klimkin, as well as the Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of the Republic of Chile in Ukraine, Juan Eduardo Egiguren.
According to the agreement, citizens of Ukraine and Chile will be able to stay in the territories of both countries without visas for up to 90 days within six months.
Minister Klimkin reported that Ukraine has maintained close ties with Chile for many years and cooperates in various areas, including political and economic.
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The Ukrainian representative expressed gratitude to the Chilean ambassador for their support in the current conflict with Russia, which has been repeatedly stated on the state and international stage.
It is worth noting that Ukraine currently enjoys a visa-free regime with 25 countries around the world, with most agreements allowing Ukrainians to stay in these states for up to 90 days.
As previously reported by INKORR, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko plans to achieve a visa-free regime with Romania in May. The head of state hopes that the Romanian government will support this initiative. The Ukrainian president also intends to achieve the abolition of visas with EU countries starting in 2016.
However, even if Ukraine manages to gain Romania's support, the European Union is unlikely to consider a visa-free regime as it still maintains a policy of ongoing doubts regarding border control by Ukrainians. Back in December 2014, it was stated in Ukraine that the visa-free regime with EU countries would come into effect in less than a year. The European Union is trying to negotiate with Ukraine on this issue, but the situation in Donbas currently undermines all hopes for visa-free status.
The EU notes that Ukraine will have to do significant work before the abolition of visas can be possible. However, the schedule of reforms in Ukraine pleases Eurocrats as Ukrainians have the opportunity to obtain biometric passports. But this is of little help to the country in achieving visa-free status with the European Union.
Above all, the European Union fears that Ukraine's borders are partially controlled by pro-Russian militants, which could be exploited by terrorists. If they obtain the opportunity to travel to Europe freely, they will undoubtedly take advantage of it, European states believe.