US banknotes and US visa. File photoWASHINGTON, Aug 10US authorities are not restricting visa options for Russian citizens who can apply to US diplomatic missions around the world, Julie Stafft, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Consular Affairs, said Wednesday.» There are no restrictions for Russian citizens. Russians can apply to virtually any embassy in the world. We see this every day,» Stafft said during a special briefing, commenting on the initiative discussed by the G7 countries to limit the possibility of issuing visas to Russian citizens.
The Federation Council criticized the initiative to deprive Russians of Schengen visas. Earlier on Wednesday, German government spokesman Steffen Hebeshtreit said that the EU was discussing the content of the seventh package of sanctions against Russia, including the issue of stopping the issuance of Schengen visas. On Tuesday, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said that it was necessary to stop issuing tourist visas for citizens of Russia. Earlier, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu proposed to include in the next package of EU sanctions against the Russian Federation a ban on issuing entry visas to Russians. The head of the Finnish government, Sanna Marin, also called for limiting tourism from Russia. She hopes that the country's Foreign Ministry will offer ways to restrict, because you can cross the border of Finland on a visa of any country of the Schengen agreement. The press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov noted in connection with these statements that European countries unfriendly to Russia are imposing sanctions «to the point of unconsciousness», in The Kremlin hopes that over time «common sense will somehow prove itself.» Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko said that if the EU countries restrict the issuance of visas to Russians, Russia «will find a way to respond,» because such discriminatory measures are unacceptable for Moscow. After the start of the special military operation of the Russian Federation in Ukraine, the West increased sanctions pressure on Russia. Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously stated that the policy of containment and weakening of Russia is a long-term strategy of the West, and sanctions have dealt a serious blow to the entire global economy. According to him, the main goal of the West is to worsen the lives of millions of people.
