Restrictions on entry into the states of the European Union (EU) will have a more effective impact on Russians if the measures are approved at the level of the entire community, said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis.
“Lithuania has consistently advocated the application of sanctions against countries using [на международной арене] aggressive actions, and adheres to the position that the restrictions imposed on them are more effective if they act at the EU level, ”the agency quotes him BNS on Saturday, August 13th.
Thus, the Lithuanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded to Estonia’s decision to ban entry into the country of Russian citizens with Schengen visas issued by Estonian consular offices and to similar prohibitive measures of a number of other member states of the European Union.
“According to the assessments of our authorities, in essence, the Estonian decision is very similar to the restrictions that Lithuania applies,” he said.
On August 10, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba called on the EU and G7 countries to stop issuing visas to Russian citizens. Kuleba said that Russians should be “deprived of the right to cross international borders until they learn to respect them.”
On July 29, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said that the country would propose to the European Union to block Russian citizens from entering the countries of the EU community. He noted that Estonia will provide a plan of all-European restrictions for Russians at the end of August.
A day earlier, the leader of the Lithuanian social movement Dawn of Justice and the coordinator of the Neighborhood Forum, Erika Shvenchenienė, announced the speech of the Lithuanian opposition delegation with the initiative to introduce a visa-free regime between Lithuania and Russia. She noted that such visa-free mutual trips would help Lithuanian citizens to receive unbiased information about life in Russia.
On July 26, the director of the consular department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Ivan Volynkin, said that Moscow allowed the termination of the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians. According to him, the department records such calls coming from Europe, several countries have already taken this step.
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