Commenting on the latest policy changes regarding the visa-free small border traffic between Poland and Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said:.

"As is known, on July 4, 2016. The Polish side, under the pretext of increasing security measures in connection with the NATO summit in Warsaw and the World Youth Day in Krakow, temporarily suspended the Agreement on the order of local border traffic. The events that served as an excuse for these actions of Warsaw have long been over, but the Polish side clearly does not seek to unblock the situation, which can not but cause surprise. To date, Poland has shown no interest in the resumption of WFP. As a result, the interests of people on both sides of the border. "In this statement of reality only corresponds to the fact that the interests of people on both sides of the border suffer from the suspension of the visa-free regime".

Visa-free regime contributed to the development of socio-economic ties between countries, wrote in his blog Gdansk Mayor Pavel Adamovich in December 2016.

If Moscow really wanted visa liberalization with the European Union, then it had a chance to do so in 2010, when the political situation on both sides was ideal for Russia, and the European Union and the European Parliament supported the Road Map for the abolition of the visa regime with Russia. However, Russia has not fulfilled the conditions of the Road Map, except for the transition of Russians to biometric passports.

Instead, in recent years, Russia has been building up a military presence on its western borders, increasing concerns about its own security among neighboring NATO member states such as Poland. The continuing militarization of Russian borders was accompanied by repeated violations of the airspace of Western European countries by Russian military aircraft.

Moscow claims that it is building up military power in response to the actions of the West.

However, the annexation of Crimea and the Moscow-backed conflict in eastern Ukraine indicate that it was Russia that created a security threat in the region and prompted the governments of Poland and the Baltic States to end the visa-free regime.

Russia also deployed troops and military equipment in the territories of Ukraine, Georgia and Moldova without the consent of these countries. During the July NATO summit in Brussels, the 29 member countries of the alliance signed a declaration urging Russia to withdraw its troops from these countries.

Source: Voice of America.