September 30
Central Asia Travel Deals For Russians May Be Curtailed
The Federal Drug Control Service and Federal Migration Service in Russia have proposed scrapping that country's visa-free Central Asia travel deals over growing security concerns. At the very least, the agencies urged parliament to tighten passport control, and lawmakers were supportive of the initiative.
The speaker from the drug control watchdog said that his agency will not be able to stem the flow of drugs trafficked into Russia if visa-free travel continues. He claimed that governments in Central Asia were doing little to help, probably because they have stakes in the drug business. The countries that would be affected by new visa restrictions would be Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. However, a lawmaker from the foreign affairs committee argued that there was no need to terminate the existing visa-free agreements, and that tightening passport control for travelers arriving from Central Asia would be sufficient. Russia would be able to implement these new controls immediately without violating existing agreements.