The head of the European Council, Charles Michel, said that Europe should allow entry to Russian citizens who want to leave the country and not follow Putinʼs criminal orders.
He told Politico about it.
According to him, the EU should demonstrate "openness to those who do not want to become a tool of the Kremlin", as well as accept Russians who are in danger because of their political views.
"If people in Russia are in danger because of their political beliefs, because they donʼt follow this crazy decision by the Kremlin to start this war in Ukraine, we have to take that into account," Michel said, adding that the partial mobilization announced by Putin has changed the dynamics of the war.
Michelʼs statements were made on the eve of the meeting of EU ambassadors, during which this issue will definitely be raised.
- On September 12, the EU Councilʼs decision to suspend the simplified visa regime with Russia, which had been in effect since 2007, entered into force. The process of obtaining visas to EU countries for Russians has become much longer and more expensive. The same decisions were made by Switzerland and Norway. Itʼs Finland ʼs turn.
- After Putin announced partial mobilization, many Russians began to flee the country. Latvia, Estonia and the Czech Republic have already declared that they will not issue humanitarian visas to Russians fleeing mobilization. Kazakhstan also declared that it would not grant them shelter.