The United States won’t join several European countries imposing a visa ban on Russian nationals, with a spokesperson saying that Washington doesn’t want to close pathways of Russians wanting to leave Putin’s regime.
A few weeks ago, the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, called on the European Union to impose a visa ban on Russian nationals, saying Russians should ‘live on their own world until they change their philosophy and later on pointed out that the 27-nation-bloc should prevent the possibility to be open to anyone wanting to enter, VisaGuide.World reports.
“The US wouldn’t want to close off pathways to refuge and safety for Russia’s dissidents or others who are vulnerable to human rights abuses. We’ve also been clear that it is important to draw a line between the actions of the Russian government and its policies in Ukraine and the people of Russia,” a state department spokesperson said.On the other hand, several European countries have already imposed visa restrictions and are calling on other countries to ban Russians from traveling, while countries like Portugal, Cyprus, and Greece have refused to join the call. In addition, the High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, also revealed he doesn’t support the notion of banning Russian citizens from obtaining visas and traveling to Europe.
“To the oligarchs, we must not open the door, of course. We have to block the entrance to these Russians. But there are many Russians who want to flee the country because they don’t want to live in this situation,” Borrell stated.The countries in Europe that support an entry ban on Russian tourists include Czechia, Norway, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Denmark, Lithuania, and Poland. Estonia was the first one to propose banning Russians from visiting Europe, saying that the decision is only right and by imposing such restrictions can only take away from Russians the possibility to continue living normally. Estonia has also imposed some stringent restrictions on Russian nationals, banning those holding an Estonian Schengen visa from entering the country, and is considering to ban also those with visas issued by the other Member States. Lithuania has also stopped issuing visas to Russian citizens, including those traveling there for medical help. The Finnish authorities have also announced they would stop issuing visas to Russians, cutting those numbers by 90 percent starting next month. This means that out of 1,000 visas that can be issued by Finnish authorities, only 100 can be granted.