Estonia to close land border for Russian citizens from September 19
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Estonia will close entry for Russian citizens from September 19, including those with Schengen visas issued by third countries, Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said.
“On the night of September 19 or from 00 hours on September 19, a ban on entry across external borders will begin to operate for Russian citizens, regardless of which states have been issued a Schengen visa,” said Reinsalu (quote by Interfax).
According to the minister, other states of the Baltic region will do the same. Reinsalu said the call to Russian citizens is: “Don’t come to Estonia with Schengen visas, you are not welcome here!”
At the same time, he noted that the ban applies to persons traveling with tourist visas, and does not affect those wishing to visit the country to meet with relatives and for other humanitarian reasons.
The head of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, Edgars Rinkevics, said earlier that Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia had reached an agreement in principle to restrict the entry of Russians. Exceptions to the restrictions will be made for truck drivers, diplomats, and those crossing the border for humanitarian and family reasons. According to the head of the Latvian Foreign Ministry, the governments of the Baltic countries will announce restrictions in the coming days.
On August 31 in Prague, at an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers, the main issue for discussion was the issue of restrictions on the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens. Poland, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia bordering on Russia demanded that the European Commission tighten its visa policy towards Russia. At the same time, a number of countries, including Germany and Hungary, did not support a complete ban on issuing visas to Russians.
As a result of the meeting, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Economic Relations of Hungary, Peter Szijjarto, already announced that the foreign ministers of the EU countries could not agree on a ban on visas for Russian citizens, but by a majority of votes a decision was made to cancel the simplified procedure for issuing visas.
On the eve it became known that the permanent representatives of the EU countries may approve the complete suspension of the visa facilitation agreement with Russia on September 7.
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