Poland is working on a concept that will allow Russians to be denied visas.
This was stated by the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Piotr Vavzyk, "Polish Radio" reports.
According to him, Poland is in favor of further sanctions pressure on Russia by the EU, in particular for the suspension of the visa regime for citizens of the Russian Federation, but major EU members are against it.
“Major member states, including Germany, France and the Netherlands, are against it. Due to the fact that it is impossible to overcome the resistance of these countries regarding the suspension of the agreement on visa facilitation for citizens of the Russian Federation, Poland is working on a new solution," Vavzyk said.
He added that Polish diplomacy has been negotiating on this topic with some member countries for several weeks, and noted that Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia have a similar view on this issue. A decision on the visa ban is expected in the coming weeks. European Union foreign ministers will discuss possible visa restrictions for Russian citizens at the end of August.
- Poland has not been issuing tourist visas to citizens of the Russian Federation for several months. In August, Latvia stopped issuing visas to Russians. The Czech Republic does not issue visas and temporary residence permits to Russians until the end of March 2023. On August 11, Estonia closed the border for Russians.
- A number of European Union countries are discussing the possibility of banning the issuing of visas to citizens of Russia. Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Finland have already taken such an initiative.
- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that it is "difficult for him to accept" the idea of canceling the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens.