Estonia intends to demand that the EU stops issuing visas to Russians
The Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is preparing proposals to the European Union to stop issuing visas to Russian citizens, said Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu on the air of ETV.
"The bottom line is that the European Union should stop issuing regular visas to Russian citizens. There are humanitarian cases. For example, associates of Alexei Navalny, they would be considered separately," Reinsalu said.
"But it's really funny that Russian citizens are now traveling en masse across Russia's western border — through Finland, Latvia, Lithuania — to visit the Louvre in the summer, while children are being killed in Ukraine. This is certainly morally wrong," he added.
According to Reinsalu, Estonia should also assess whether it is worth revoking already issued visas on certain grounds. At the same time, in March, when Estonia announced that it was temporarily stopping issuing visas to Russians, the Foreign Ministry assured that Russian citizens who already had Schengen visas issued by Estonia will still be able to enter the Republic of Estonia.
According to the Minister, this issue was already discussed in the European Union in March, but at that time there were COVID-19 travel restrictions and travel was not as massive as it is now.
The Estonian Foreign Ministry wants to prepare proposals for the EU in the coming weeks, the Estonian Foreign Minister added.
"I have already voiced this issue to the foreign ministers of Finland and Latvia, and we will certainly consult with the governments of our region to find wider support for this initiative," Reinsalu said.
"We need all countries to support this. We are going to make another round to bring up this issue. I hope it will find support. Now the situation is different from what it was in the spring," he said.