Moldova will obtain simplified visa regime relatively soon, Czech official

The Czech Republic supports the abolition of visa duty for Moldovan citizens and the visa regime may be simplified relatively soon, Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg said after meeting his Moldovan counterpart Iuri Leanca in Prague on Monday, Info-Prim Neo reports, quoting the Czech news portal “Prague Daily Monitor”. “It will take some time but I am sure that Moldova will have its visa regime simplified relatively soon,” Karel Schwarzenberg said. He also said that Moldova will have to meet the necessary preconditions for the visa duty to be lifted. Iurie Leanca voiced hope that the European Union will not change the criteria for Moldova's preparedness for visa-free travel at the last moment. “"We want the same standard like the countries of the West Balkans,”he said. The Czech official stressed that the standards got markedly stricter following the recent killing of Al Qaeda's leader Osama bin Laden. Iurie Leanca had been in the Czech Republic on a visit during May 16-17.