Berlin - The German government has dropped its opposition to EU visa freedom for Russian officials but critics say it is moving too fast.
"I can confirm that the minister of interior and the foreign minister jointly wrote a letter asking for EU visa liberalisation for Russian service passport holders," Martin Schefer, spokesman of the German foreign ministry said Wednesday (6 March) in a press conference...
Germany so far had been opposing the move, which is taken by a majority vote among ambassadors.
Asked what the German government will be able to tell Russian dissidents and opponents of the Putin regime if government officials will be able to travel visa-free to Europe, but not regular citizens, the spokesman said:
"Our relations with Russia are broad and they include these groups of persons you mentioned. Any rapprochement with Russia will benefit all the people in Russia and in the EU."
http://euobserver.com/foreign/119304