Lithuanian Foreign Minister Criticizes EU States For Issuing Tourist Visas To Russians

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th August, 2022) Lithuanian Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis criticized on Friday the EU countries that continue to issue visas to Russians and urged them to cancel previously issued long-term tourist Schengen visas of Russian and Belarusian citizens.

"EU members that continue to issue tourist visas to Russians are not only ignoring all the atrocities committed against Ukrainians, they are also effectively 'inviting' Russian tourists to the Baltics," Landsbergis told Politico, adding that the decision of other European countries to continue issuing visas could potentially create rifts within the EU.

The minister urged EU members to review the long-term tourist Schengen visas issued to Russians and Belarusians.

"We need to find a joint and efficient solution to make a visa ban as effective as possible. And it should include, effective immediately, a clear 'no' to Russian and Belarusian tourists; revoking already issued long-term multiple-entry visas, at least until the war has ended; and the continued welcome of those who seek refuge � not a European vacation," Landsbergis said.

Some EU countries, including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Poland and the Netherlands, have limited the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens.

Calls have been mounting for the European Commission to ban Russian tourists from entering the EU's borderless area in response to the Russian special operation in Ukraine. France and Germany have so far refused to back Baltic and some central European states on their initiative citing freedom of travel principle. This issue will be on the agenda of the upcoming informal EU ministerial meeting in Prague from August 30-31.