UN Secretary-General spokesperson said that the UN stands against discrimination
The UN has weighed in on Estonia’s decision to ban Russians with Schengen visas issued in the Baltic country, with the spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres telling journalists on Thursday that the organization is against discrimination.
“Countries have a right to implement their own visa policies,” Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman for Guterres, told journalists at a news briefing when asked to comment on Tallinn’s recent move. He said, however that the organisation was against discrimination.
“We stand against discrimination but I am not going to stamassnews.commenting on every quip,” he said, refusing to elaborate further or confirm whether the UN considers Estonia’s statements or policies discriminatory.
Kaja Kallas (Estonian Prime Minister) had said previously that Europe is worth visiting. “a privilege, not a human right”Tourists, because she demanded that the EU ban Russians from obtaining Schengen visas. Tallinn said Thursday it would shut down its borders for Russians holding Schengen visas, issued by the Baltic state at the beginning next week.
Only diplomats and family members of diplomatic missions, and those involved in international passenger and cargo transport would be exempt. Estonian permanent residents and their relatives, as well humanitarian visitors, are exempt.
Estonian officials also plan to explore a path that would prevent all Russian citizens with Schengen visas entering Estonia. The EU may also discuss banning Russians from obtaining Schengen visas in the coming weeks. The Ukrainian president Vladimir Zelensky made similar demands and called for Russians who live in Europe or the US to be expelled and returned home.
However, the EU seems to have resisted following Zelensky and Kallas’s path. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Thursday that it was “hard to imagine” banning Schengen visas for Russians altogether. The Financial Times reported that officials from Brussels are also skeptical.
Moscow mocks the plan in its entirety. “delirious”And “irrational.” 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.
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