(Bloomberg) -- Russian ally Belarus has allowed visitors from 35 European countries visa-free access to its territory via land border crossings as the country’s president Alexander Lukashenko attempts to strike a friendlier tone in the face of growing tensions with western neighbors.
Starting Friday, citizens of the EU, UK as well several other European countries will be allowed to enter Belarus by rail and road connections for short-term stays of up to 30 days, the Foreign Ministry said on its website. The scheme will run until the end of this year. The ministry’s statement also said that an earlier visa-free regime for European citizens entering via the country’s airports remains in place.
Belarus is under increasing pressure from EU and NATO neighbors Poland, Lithuania and Latvia who accuse the government in Minsk of formenting a migration crisis on their borders. The country is also at odds with Ukraine after Lukashenko, a longtime supporter of Putin, allowed Russia to use his country as a launchpad for part of the invasion of Belarus’s southern neighbor in February 2022.
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