PRAGUE, Aug 30 (Reuters) – Germany and France have issued a joint warning against banning tourist visas for Russians, saying the move, championed by other European Union member states, would be counterproductive.
The tourist visa divide will be the focus of a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Prague on Tuesday and Wednesday as they discuss what further steps they can take to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine six months ago.
“We oppose farreaching restrictions on our visa policy, in order to avoid feeding the Russian narrative and causing an unwanted concentration around the effects of the flag and/or alienating future generations,” France and Germany said in the joint note seen by Reuters.
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The Kremlin said calls for a visa ban on Russian tourists are the latest example of the West’s antiRussian agenda.
“Step by step, unfortunately, both Brussels and individual European capitals are demonstrating absolute lack of reason,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call with reporters.
“These are very serious decisions that could be directed against our citizens and, of course, these decisions cannot go unanswered,” he added.
“But in responding, we will do so in a way that best suits our interests and protects the interests of our citizens.”
The two leading EU countries, Germany and France, defend close scrutiny of Russian visa applications because of security risks, but believe the visas should still be issued.
“We must not give up supporting prodemocracy elements in Russian society,” they said. “Our visa policies should reflect this and continue to allow peopletopeople contacts in the EU with Russian nationals not linked to the Russian government.
“We should not underestimate the transformative power of experiencing firsthand life in democratic systems, especially for future generations,” they added.
CLEAR MESSAGE
Others, notably the eastern and Nordic member states, have strongly defended the ban.
“It’s very provocative to me that you see Russian men on European beaches in southern Europe, and at the same time Ukrainian men between the ages of 18 and 60 cannot even leave their country, but have to fight for their freedom,” said Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod. last week.
“We think it is right that together in Europe we can limit and cut off tourists from Russia and it would send a clear message to (President) Putin.”
An EU diplomat said foreign ministers could agree in principle to suspend a visa facilitation deal with Russia, which would mean Russians face a longer procedure and pay 80 euros instead of 35 for EU visas, but that divisions over the tourist visa ban were too deep for any deal on it.
Russians enter the EU mostly through the land borders of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said last week, adding that those countries can act on its own if the EU does not agree to a unionwide ban. . Read more
Meanwhile, defense ministers meeting in Prague are likely to agree in principle on the less controversial step of organizing joint military training missions for Ukrainian troops.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he hoped ministers would give him the green light to start work on an EU military training mission for Ukraine.
“Some EU countries are already organizing training for Ukrainians, but I think it would be good … to make sure that the EU collectively does it in an organized way that can last for a while,” the minister said. ‘Foreign Affairs of Ireland, Simon Coveney. in Prague
The Netherlands also supported the idea, saying it was working on demining training together with Germany.
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Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Jan Lopatka, Ingrid Melander and Bart Meijer; Written by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Alex Richardson and Ed Osmond
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