MOSCOW, January 22, 2004. /RIA Novosti correspondent Panovkin/. The problem of facilitation of granting of Czech visas for tourists and other categories of Russian citizens will not be solved soon, first secretary of the Czech Embassy in Russia Frantisek Jirasek told a press conference in Moscow on Thursday.
According to him, "the Russian and Czech Foreign Ministries have been discussing visa facilitation for several years, however, it is still early to talk about it".
Nevertheless, in February the consular department of the Czech Embassy in Moscow will introduce a new computer program to simplify and forward the process of granting of Czech visas.
In 2003 the consular department of the Czech Embassy in Russia granted 106,000 visas (by 20 percent more than in 2002). Russian tourists hold the first place in the length of their staying in Czechia.
