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Germany weighs in on EU visa ban for Russians — Analysis

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stated “it is hard to imagine”Russians could not obtain Schengen visas. He made the comment on a proposal by Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, which was supported both by politicians from Finland and the Baltic States.

The German leader, speaking to journalists at a federal press conference Thursday morning, said that Ukraine’s conflict is the fault of the Russian government and its people.

“Therefore, I find it hard to imagine such reflections,”Scholz spoke out about the complete ban on visas for Russian citizens. Scholz explained that sanctions have been imposed by the EU against rich Russians in the past for their supposed connections to the government. He also claimed that Germany would most likely keep doing so. But, he said, it would. “not be justified”All Russians will be subject to penalties

On Tuesday, an EU official also expressed the bloc’s reluctance to close its borders to all Russian travelers. “You don’t want to completely ban all Russians from traveling to the EU. How are we going to engage at all?”Financial Times received an anonymous statement from a source confirming that he did not support the military intervention in Ukraine. “need to be able to travel too.”

Zelensky’s demand that all Russians stop receiving tourist visas was echoed by politicians from Finland and Estonia earlier this week. “Visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right,”Kaja Kallas, Estonian Prime Minister, stated it was “time to end tourism from Russia now.”


EU balks at Russia travel ban

Finnish PM Sanna Marin supported this idea, claiming it was “not right”Russians “can live a normal life, travel in Europe, be tourists,”While Moscow was engaged in military conflict with Ukraine.

Moscow has called for the proposal measure “delirious” “irrational,”He said that the idea reminded him of previous sentiments. “literally 80 years ago from certain countries in the heart of Europe,”Dmitry Peskov, spokesperson for the Kremlin, stated this.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova also pointed out that a complete visa ban for Russian travelers would go against the EU’s own rules and obligations, which state that entry to the bloc cannot be denied on the basis of nationality.

“This would kill the whole idea of democracy, liberalism, freedom and, as they say ‘zero tolerance’ [of] xenophobia, nationalism and so on,”Zakharova stated this in an interview that was conducted on Tuesday. “If any EU countries do this, they will instantly admit their own nationalism, and no cosmetics will cover it up.”

While most EU states remain skeptical of the proposed visa ban, Germany’s Secretary of State Steffen Hebestreit has said that the measure will nevertheless be one of the topics discussed during the bloc’s deliberations on the next package of anti-Russia sanctions.

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