Russian president wants visa-free travel to EU

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev on Wednesday urged the European Union to allow visa-free travel between his country and the 27-member bloc. Russia has been unsuccessfully seeking visa-free travel to Europe for many years, but EU nations point to the violence in Russia's volatile North Caucasus region and the nation's porous borders with its ex-Soviet neighbors as reasons for the border controls.

Medvedev argued free travel was a necessary part of closer ties."If we want to develop all aspects of Russian-EU relations then we have no alternative but to strive for visa-free travel," Medvedev said during a visit to Finland. (AP)