Ukrainian parliament passes EU visa facilitation bills

Kiev, May 13 (IANS) The Ukrainian parliament Tuesday passed the legislation needed to approve the country's visa facilitation agreement with the European Union (EU).

"We got a chance to have a visa-free regime with the EU by the end of this year," Xinhua quoted acting President Alexandr Turchynov, who is also the parliament speaker, as telling lawmakers.

After the presidential election scheduled for May 25, Ukraine hopes to sign the core chapters of the Association Agreement with the EU, which includes a roadmap for abolishing the visa regime for Ukrainians.

EU citizens have been exempted from visas when travelling to Ukraine since 2005.