Footballers and fans will not need visas to travel to Russia for the 2018 World Cup, President Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday.
Russia beat out co-bidders Spain/Portugal, Netherlands/Belgium and England for the prestigious sporting event.
During the final presentations in Switzerland's Zurich on Thursday, Russia's bid boss Alexei Sorokin said Russia would scrap visas.
"We would like to create a special atmosphere during the tournament," Medvedev said after talks with Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in Russia's southern Black Sea resort of Sochi.
"We should make progress on the visa regime, but honestly, we would like to scrap visas between Russia and the European Union altogether," he said at his residence at Krasnaya Polyana, outside Sochi.
Berlusconi expressed his agreement with the plan.
He said Italy helped Russia win the bid.
"I would like to say that we put efforts into it," he said. "Our representatives worked to make our voices heard... and to persuade our friends that we have, that the most suitable platform [to host the tournament] is Russia."
SOCHI, December 3 (RIA Novosti)
