MOSCOW, November 22 (RIA Novosti, Irina Chumakova) - The Russian Foreign Ministry will sign an agreement on simplified visa regulations with the European Union in spring 2006, a deputy foreign minister said Tuesday.

Alexander Grushko said in an RIA Novosti interview that the document would then come into force in the fall. He added that Russian experts were coordinating the texts of documents on the simplified visa regulations, which have been proposed for students, graduate students, scientists, diplomats, and other people who need long-term visas.

"We are hoping to finish this work by the end of the year," Grishko said. "Our counterparts from the EU have set us another deadline: March-April, 2006. So, we can expect to sign the agreement in March-May of next year."

Russia already has eased visa regulations with some European countries, including Italy and Germany, and eventually wants visa-free travel with the EU.

Russian experts and their European counterparts have already made progress in drafting two key agreements on simplifying visa regulations and on the readmission of illegal migrants. However, the latter agreement has proven to be contentious, as Brussels wants Moscow to commit to readmitting deported illegal migrants who have traveled via Russia to the EU, and not simply Russians.