Russia-Ukraine war: Hungary denies plans of restrictions on issuance of visas to Russians

As western nations continue to tighten sanctions on Russia over its "unjustified" invasion of Ukraine, the Hungarian government has confirmed that it does not intend to stand with the West on the idea of imposing restrictions on Russian citizens. The head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry, Peter Szijjarto, on Wednesday announced that Hungary does not intend to restrict visas for Russian citizens following a telephone conversation with his Estonian counterpart, Urmas Reinsalu, reported TASS.

Whether the European Union tightens the practise of issuing Schengen visas to Russians or not, Hungary will not introduce such plans against Russian citizens, said Szijjarto, who took to Facebook and wrote, "Here we share the position of the German Chancellor and do not plan to introduce any restrictions."

Hungary denies plans of restrictions on issuance of visas to Russian people

He said that the conversation took place on the initiative of the Estonian minister. "It was a long discussion, and we agreed on the most important issue: The war in Ukraine must end as soon as possible! I told him that for us, as a neighbouring country, it is especially important that peace be established as soon as possible," Szijjártó added. He also confirmed that any sanctions imposed by the Hungarian government against Russia will not contribute to the settlement of the Ukrainian conflict, per the TASS News report

Meanwhile, the foreign ministers of 27 European Union countries are scheduled to meet by the end of this month to discuss the next step for the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens on August 30 in Prague. On Monday, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said he did not support the idea of imposing a visa ban on all Russians in the community. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also noted that he would not stop the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens. According to him, Russian President Vladimir Putin is responsible for the situation in Ukraine and not the Russian people.

Energy sanctions on Russia

The Hungarian Minister noted that the Estonian Government has already announced its intention to prepare proposals for the entire European Union on the eighth package of sanctions against Russia, which will include a complete embargo on energy supplies. However, Budapest does not support such ideas. "We don't even want to negotiate energy sanctions," Szijjarto wrote.

"At present, it is physically impossible to ensure the supply of oil and natural gas to Hungary without Russian energy resources," the head of the Hungarian Foreign Ministry recalled, adding that the government does not want ordinary Hungarian citizens to pay for the situation in Ukraine. He also noted that "energy sanctions harm Europe more than Russia, so their tightening would be completely contrary to common sense."

Image: AP