Baltics near U.S. visa freedom

WASHINGTON 's Officials from the U.S. have released a flurry of statements in the past few days confirming that the country is on the verge of dropping the visa requirements for the Baltic states.

The most recent came from U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, who said on Tuesday that Estonians will be able to travel to the U.S. without a visa by year's end.

Chertoff, U.S. Assistant Attorney General Matthew Friedrich, Estonian Interior Minister Juri Pihl and Justice Minister Rein Lang signed an agreement in Washington on Monday that is the final prerequisite for visa-free travel between Estonia and the United States.

"This agreement is extremely important and necessary in today's world that is full of risks, where international terrorism, cross-border crime and illegal migration are jeopardizing countries' internal stability, people's daily lives, and are undermining the mainstays of the democratic society," the Estonian interior minister was quoted by spokespeople as saying during the signing of the agreement.

The agreement is the final prerequisite for the accession of Estonia to the U.S. visa waiver program. Before the decision to expand the program is made the U.S. secretary of state must formally name Estoniaa candidate for visa waiver.

The agreement was signed on the same day that U.S. Ambassador to Latvia Charles Larson said that the country was fully prepared to adopt a visa free regime.

Larson made the comment Monday after signing the agreement between the U.S. and Latvian governments on enforcing cooperation in preventing and combating severe crimes. The agreement was signed to fully complete the technical negotiations on introduction of the visa-free regime with the U.S.

Lithuanian President Valdas Adamkus, meanwhile, discussed the country's progress toward a visa free regime during a Tuesday meeting with U.S. President George Bush.

"It is very important and symbolic that the last legal document which will open up a possibility for Lithuaniancitizens to travel freely to the U.S.A. was signed today. I thank President G. W. Bush for his leadership and for the consistent efforts of his administration," Adamkus is quoted as saying in a release by the president's press service.