Estonia to ban Russian citizens from entering country

GENEVA

The Estonian government has decided to ban the entry of Russian citizens carrying a Schengen visa issued by Estonia.

Speaking at a weekly news conference, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said the decision was taken as part of sanctions against Moscow.

Reinsalu noted that Russian citizens with visas issued by other EU members will be excluded from the ban, and called on the bloc to restrict issuing Schengen visas to Russian citizens.


The minister further stated that the ban will not affect those who have a permanent residence permit in Estonia, embassy employees and their families, transport sector employees, those who have the right to free movement under EU laws, people visiting their close relatives as well as people entering for humanitarian reasons in the country.


The foreign minister said that they will work with the country’s Interior Ministry in the coming weeks to also impose a ban on the entry of those Russian citizens who have a Schengen visa that has not been issued by Estonia.


On Tuesday, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called on the European countries to stop issuing visas to Russia.


“Stop issuing tourist visas to Russians. Visiting #Europe is a privilege, not a human right. Air travel from RU is shut down. It means while Schengen countries issue visas, neighbours to Russia carry the burden (FI, EE, LV – sole access points). Time to end tourism from Russia now,” Kallas said on Twitter.

* Writing by Seda Sevencan