The signing of an agreement between Russia and the European Union to ease visa restrictions has been delayed due to differences over Russian officials' passports, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Meshkov said on Friday.
Moscow wants the EU to cancel visas for officials holding special biometric passports. Such documents are issued to employees of various state bodies, such as the presidential administration, the parliament, the Supreme Court and state corporations who travel on an official assignment.
The visa cancellation issue is due to be discussed at a Moscow meeting between Russian Ambassador at Large Anvar Azimov and a European Comission delegation next month.
