The national flag on the facade of the Estonian Embassy in Moscow. File photoHELSINKI, Aug 17 Estonian authorities want to ban Russian citizens with visas issued in other EU countries from entering the country, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said on Wednesday. issuing visas to Russian citizens and entering the country with a Schengen visa already issued in Estonia, however, citizens of the Russian Federation who have been issued a visa by another country participating in the Schengen Agreement can still enter the republic.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania advocated the annulment of tourist Schengen visas of RussiansAccording to Reinsalu, a solution is now being developed in Estonia, with the help of which it would be possible to prohibit the entry into the country of Russians with visas issued in other EU countries. «We agreed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Internal Affairs next week prepare their possible proposals on how to close the Estonian border also for those citizens of the Russian Federation who have a Schengen visa that was not issued by Estonia,» the minister told the state broadcasting portal ERR. According to Reinsalu, this decision does not contradict the laws European Union. He cited the situation with the coronavirus pandemic as an example, when countries closed their internal borders to citizens of other EU states and the Schengen area.The West criticized the new «Wishlist of Ukraine» «This mass of Russian citizens, 850 thousand people, who entered the European Union as of the end of the first week of August, unfortunately, is growing, so we must be ready to take reciprocal steps,» Reinsalu stressed. Government Germany had previously submitted for discussion a draft EU decision to ban the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens as part of the next sanctions package. In addition, the Latvian parliament adopted a statement calling on the EU countries to stop issuing visas to citizens of Russia and Belarus. Moscow considers proposals to ban the issuance of Schengen visas to all Russian citizens as a manifestation of chauvinism, such statements by European politicians will not remain without consequences — «you will have to answer for them» , said Ivan Nechaev, deputy director of the information and press department of the Russian Foreign Ministry. As Konstantin Kosachev, vice speaker of the Federation Council, emphasized, the proposal to deprive Russians of the right to obtain Schengen visas contradicts the EU's human rights obligations and the regulations of the union itself. » />Finland will halve the acceptance of applications for a Schengen visa from Russians
