Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs supports call to ban entry of Russian citizens at EU level

SATURDAY, 13 AUGUST 2022, 11:49

After Estonia decided to ban the entry of Russian citizens with Estonian Schengen visas, Lithuanian Officials said their country supports its neighbour's decision, but emphasised that the restrictions will work more effectively if they are applied at European Union level.

The LRT TV and radio company reports about this, as "European Pravda" writes.

Lithuania’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that the country's institutions, which have powers in the field of state security, issuing visas and border control, are "evaluating decisions made by Estonia and Latvia."

"According to the initial assessment of the responsible institutions, the decisions of Estonia and Latvia are essentially very similar to the restrictions currently in power in Lithuania," the ministry claims.

"Lithuania consistently advocates sanctions against aggressive states and maintains the position that restrictions work more effectively if they are applied at the EU level," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

After the Kremlin troops invaded Ukraine, Lithuania was one of the first EU countries to limit the issuance of new Schengen and national visas for Russian citizens.

However, Tallinn went further, restricting entry into the country by Russians who already have Schengen visas issued by Estonia.

For its part, the Czech Republic, which currently presides over the EU, said that the ban on issuing visas to all Russian citizens could complement the sanctions already imposed by the European Union against Russia.

Kristianis Karinsh, the Prime Minister of Latvia, also stated that it is necessary to make a decision to stop issuing Schengen tourist visas to citizens of Russia at the level of the European Union.

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