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EU to Ban Visa for Russian Travellers

A blanket ban on visas for all Russian travellers may be the next step in the EU’s sanctions on Moscow, according to the Czech Republic, which is currently in charge of the rotating EU presidency.

“The flat halting of Russian visas by all EU member states could be another very effective sanction,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipovsky said in a statement obtained by AFP.

At a loose gathering of EU foreign ministers in Prague at the end of August, he promised to put forth the suggestion.

“In a time of Russian aggression, which the Kremlin keeps on escalating, there cannot be talks about common tourism for Russian citizens,” said Lipovsky.

The EU has so far come up with six sanction packages against Russia.

In an interview with the Washington Post this week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the West to impose a travel restriction on all Russians, stating that Russians should “dwell in their world until they alter their mindset.”

The Czech Republic stopped issuing visas for ordinary Russians on February 25, a day after Russia invaded Ukraine.

But Russian tourists are still flowing into Europe through Finland. The Russians, including spies, are free to travel throughout most of Europe once they enter the visa-free Schengen region.

Pekka Haavisto, the foreign minister of Finland, unveiled a plan last week to restrict Russians’ access to tourist visas.

The EU should stop providing visas to Russians, said Kaja Kallas, prime minister of Estonia, which borders Russia.

“Visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right,” she said in a tweet on Tuesday.

Lipovsky said the move would send “a very clear and straightforward signal to the Russian society”.

It will show that “the Western world does not tolerate the Russian regime’s aggression and hateful rhetoric aimed at free, democratic countries that pose no threat to Russia,” he added.

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