Finland and Estonia ask EU to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians completely

Estonia and Finland have urged the European countries to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens in retaliatory measures to Russia's war in Ukraine. Russians must not be able to take vacations in Europe while their government carries out war in Ukraine, they said in a statement on Tuesday, Aug 9.  Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas wrote Tuesday on Twitter that “visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right” and that it is “time to end tourism from Russia now.” Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev compared Kallas to a “Nazi."    

Finland leader Sanna Marin, meanwhile ,told Finnish broadcaster YLE that “it is not right that while Russia is waging an aggressive, brutal war of aggression in Europe, Russians can live a normal life, travel in Europe, be tourists."

Russians might be denied access to Schengen visa completely

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had said in an interview with Washington Post that all Western countries and the EU must ban Russian tourists as the invading troops continue to wreak havoc on his country. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told state-affiliated Tass that there are prospects that Russians might be denied access to the Schengen visa completely, stressing that such a possibility cannot be ruled out. Moscow will take retaliatory steps if Russians are refused access to a Schengen visa, he also warned, all the while expressing hope that it would not come to that.

“I think that over time, common sense will somehow manifest itself, and those who made such statements will come to their senses,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said. 

Estonia and Finland both share the border with Russia and are members of the European Union. The EU banned air travel from Russia after it invaded Ukraine as a part of sanctions. But Russians, although, can still travel by land to both countries. Calls for a total travel ban have stirred condemnation in Moscow and the social media posts slammed the EU for anti-Russia propaganda. Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told Euronews that Finland's government has been mulling ways to  limit the number of tourist visas issued to Russians, adding that the country hopes that the EU would take similar measures and stop granting new visas completely to the Russians.