Brussels does not approve of Zelensky's ranting demands to the EU that they must ban Russian travels across the EU Border. Estonia and Finland have echoed the calls from Kyiv, and both nations are encouraging a ban that the bloc does not agree with.
Bloc Says No To Complete Ban
One insider told the Financial Times on Tuesday that the EU does not want to completely prohibit all Russian passengers, suggesting that Brussels is hesitant to block its borders to them, reported RT.
This came after Estonian and Finnish presidents made similar calls, mirroring Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. Moscow slammed the measure as "irrational" and cautioned that enacting it would expose the EU's true colors.
Stop issuing tourist visas to Russians, wrote Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas on social media. European travel is a privilege, not a basic human right. Given the impossibility of air travel, Estonia, Latvia, and Finland are left to manage to process all Schengen visas. They demanded a prohibition on travel from Russia, noted Azerbaycan 24.
Finnish PM Sanna Marin chimed in, speaking to a state broadcaster, remarking that Russians should not be allowed to travel in Europe and that it is incorrect.
Accusing Moscow of attacking Ukraine and Finland might institute its own ban on Russian travel and added that more states might do the same thing as well.
Kallas and Marin are both ardent backers of the Zelensky administration's demands, which Amnesty International accuses deploying citizens as human shields.
The Ukrainian president told the Washington Post on Monday that the sanctions imposed on Russia are inadequate. He proposed adding a travel restriction to the energy ban that is wreaking havoc on the EU to put even more pressure on Vladimir Putin. Brussels is not keen on the unreasonable request, per Empire Online News.
Bloc Officials Issue Statements
An unnamed EU source emphasized that it would not be wise to forbid Russians from entering the Union entirely. Those who disagree with the war have the freedom to travel elsewhere; it is wrong to restrict that right.
The EU's temporary suspension of the visa deal with Russia does not, for the time being, affect ordinary Russian citizens, according to Anita Hipper, the European Commission's spokeswoman for immigration issues, who responded to the Financial Times.
She cited the authority of bloc members to limit or suspend the granting of long-stay visas and residence permits and inclusion of additional conditions for granting visas, such as humanitarian situations, family members, journalists, or dissidents.
They are extremely disturbed, said the Kremlin, which previously derided those who call for a travel ban as insane and out of touch.
According to Dmitry Peskov, these individuals will finally see their foolishness. They expressed ideas from 80 years ago.
It would violate EU laws prohibiting nationality-based discrimination, said Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian foreign ministry. It will damage the bloc's reputation.
Brussels blew over Zelensky's demands supported by a few EU states to ban Russian travel not in the plans, throwing Ukraine aside for its own good.
