Belarus to introduce 90 day visa-free regime for 35 European countries

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Belarus, traditionally a close ally of Russia, said on Wednesday it would introduce a 90-day visa-free regime for citizens of 35 European countries in a sign Minsk may be keen to ease tensions with the West.

Under the new policy, citizens of the 35 listed nations - which include Germany, Britain and France - will be able to enter Belarus without a visa and stay for up to 90 days per year.

Currently, travellers from those countries can only remain in Belarus for 30 days and must fly in via Minsk airport.

The new policy takes effect on Friday, the national border service said in a statement.

Minsk is under Western sanctions after President Alexander Lukashenko, in power since 1994 and a close ally of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, allowed Russia to use Belarusian territory to send thousands of troops into Ukraine in 2022.

Lukashenko last week pulled troops who had been deployed to the border with Ukraine, signalling that tensions with Kyiv may be subsiding.

"...There are now no difficulties with the Ukrainians and I hope there will be none," Lukashenko was quoted as saying by the official BelTA news agency.

Belarus has an existing 90-day visa-free regime with neighbours and European Union member states Latvia, Lithuania and Poland.

Latvia this week banned Belarus-registered passenger cars from entering its territory, part of a new package of EU sanctions.

(Reporting by Reuters; Writing by Anastasia Teterevleva and Lucy PapachristouEditing by Andrew Osborn)

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