MOSCOW, February 20 (RIA Novosti) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Serbian counterpart Vuk Jeremic signed in Moscow on Friday a deal on mutual visa-free travel for citizens of the two countries.

The agreement will allow Russians and Serbs to pay month-long visits to each others' countries without having to apply for visas. The deal is expected to come into force in several months.

In the Balkans, Russians also enjoy visa-free travel regimes with Croatia, Montenegro and Macedonia.

The ministers said they were planning to finalize all the necessary procedures for the deal to be ratified as soon as possible.

"As for parliamentary ratification, this will be a priority task for our government, and we will propose that Serbia's parliament ratify it [the deal] as soon as possible," Jeremic said.

The deal supersedes Serbia's unilateral decision to lift visa requirements for Russians in early March of last year.