Putin: Russia would ‘lose’ ex-Soviet states if visa regime is enforced
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has reportedly said that if visa regulations are introduced with the other former Soviet republics, they will "leave Russia’s sphere of influence at once".
Putin said he disagrees with this proposal, which was made in his meeting with political analysts.
"We could apply a visa regime with post-Soviet republics, but then we would lose them completely," he said. "The Russian language is currently a rarity in those countries anyway. If we don’t have free communication, additional restrictions will emerge. Thus, those countries will leave our sphere of influence, which will consequently weaken our country."
Putin noted that the Russian economy is in need of an inflow of labor migrants. But at the same time, there should be law and order in the area of migration, he said.
"Such conditions should be provided that both migrants and Russian citizens would feel protected," Putin added.
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