The Russian Foreign Ministry hopes that relaxation of the Russia-U.S. visa regime will be a step toward visa-free travel.

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"Hopefully, the agreement aimed at drastic relaxation of traveling terms will not only spur on economic, cultural, scientific and humanitarian relations of the two countries but will also create favorable prerequisites for visa regime liberalization, up to visa-free travel," the ministry said on Thursday.

The visa regime relaxation agreement enters into force on September 9. Russian and U.S. citizens will be issued with three-year multi-entry visas.

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