Irlanda no quiere cancelar el régimen de visados ​​con Rusia

President of Ireland Mary McAleese in an interview to “Echo of Moscow” said that she does not see any sense in cancelation of visa regime between Russia and Ireland.

“Cancel visa? How to cancel it? It works very well”, – underlined the President. She also noted that all tourists and businessmen who come to Ireland get a visa without difficulty.

She noted that Ireland understands the problem of Europe concerning illegal migration, and, although it does not suffer from it as much, but are sympathetic to the policies and actions of the European Union.

Over the past ten years Ireland has accepted many migrants. From the European Union countries, but not only – according to the President, about 50,000 migrants have arrived from Russia. Currently, approximately 10% of our population is migrants.

At the meeting, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and Mary McAleese have discussed the questions of bilateral cooperation and strategic partnership between Russia and EU, as well as problems of European security because next year Ireland will lead the OSCE.

During the cooperation Ireland and Russia developed partnerships in the field of innovation and economy. Thus, by the volume of accumulated investments, Ireland is among the top ten foreign investors of European level, – notes RIA Novosti.

But as noted in an interview to TV channel Russia Today, Bill Kelleher Minister of Trade of Ireland, the countries have the possibility of cooperation not only in commerce, but also in education and culture.

Expressing surprise and joy of the celebration of the St. Patrick`s Day taking place in Russia, Bill Kelleher reported on the existence of the Russian winter festival in his homeland. The Minister noted that it is particularly important because the interaction is not only on the level of economy and politics, but on the level of culture and traditions of Russian and Irish peoples.

Discussing results of the Irish President`s visit to Russia, local experts agree on one thing: Mary McAleese voiced the opinion of not only Ireland but also of Europe on the cancelation of the visa regime. It is clear that most European leaders are skeptical about such a possibility. EU does not only fear of rising terrorism, but also takes Russian democracy with distrust resentment. Furthermore, in terms of economy in case of cancellation of visas EU loses a significant key factor of pressure on Russia.

The visit of Irish President is particularly significant because it was the first since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the USSR and Ireland in 1973.