Russia discussing visa-free travel with 7 countries - Foreign Ministry

MOSCOW. June 11 (Interfax) - Russia is negotiating mutual visa-free travel with seven countries, Deputy Foreign Minister Yevgeny Ivanov said.

"Initially, there were 14 countries on the list of possible candidates for a visa-free system. The work with half of them is now paused, and negotiations are underway with the remaining seven. These include Bahrain, Kuwait, Malaysia, Indonesia and Zimbabwe," Ivanov said at the Let's Travel international forum on Wednesday.

A mutual visa-free travel agreement with Vietnam is under consideration, he said.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said at the forum earlier that the launch of e-visas was an important step appreciated by many countries.

China, Oman, Saudi and Saudi Arabia signed the agreements last year, and the visa-free system continued to be expanded with other key partners.