The Estonian Foreign Minister, Urmas Reinsalu, reported that his department is preparing a proposal to the European Union to stop issuing Schengen visas to Russians.
This is reported by ERR.
"It is really curious that Russian citizens are now en masse traveling across the western border of Russia — through Finland, Latvia, Lithuania — to visit the Louvre in the summer, while children are being killed in Ukraine. This is certainly morally wrong," explained the head of the Estonian Foreign Ministry.
According to Urmas Reinsalu, the issue of visas for Russian citizens was already discussed in the European Union in March, but at that time there were restrictions in Russia due to the coronavirus, and the trips were not as massive as now.
Currently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Estonia wants to prepare proposals for the EU in the coming weeks.
"I have already raised this issue with the foreign ministers of Finland and Latvia, and we will of course consult with governments in our region to find wider support for this initiative," Reinsalu stated.
"We need all countries to be in favor." We are going to go with this question for a new circle, I hope for this support. Now the situation is different from the one in the spring," he added.
According to Reinsal, Estonia should also assess whether it is worth revoking already issued visas on certain grounds.
- After the invasion of Russian troops into Ukraine, some EU countries, including the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, suspended issuing visas to Russians, except in special cases.
- On June 17, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine decided to introduce a visa regime with Russia from July 1. Citizens of the Russian Federation will be able to obtain a visa to enter Ukraine after the introduction of the appropriate regime.