Portugal, Greece and Cyprus spoke out against the Iron Curtain for Russians
Portugal opposed the ban on the entry of Russian tourists into the European Union.
The country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the local newspaper Eco this .
The Portuguese Foreign Ministry emphasized that the goal of sanctions against Moscow should be “to punish the Russian military machine, not the Russian people.” However, Portugal will take part in the discussion between the 27 member states on August 31.
“Portugal believes that the main goal of the sanctions regime should be to punish the Russian military machine, not the Russian people. Portugal will participate in the discussions that may eventually take place at European level on this issue, contributing to the development of a common position among EU member states, as we have always done,” the country’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Greece and Cyprus also opposed the ban on issuing tourist Schengen visas to Russians. Both countries rejected Ukraine's call for such a ban. The foreign publication Politico reports, UNN reports.
Both countries of the country unite in support of the position of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who expressed the opinion that the West “should blame Russian President Vladimir Putin, not the Russian people.”
The authorities of Cyprus, where a large Russian-speaking emigrant community lives, take the same position as Berlin.
“We believe in contacts between people, so we do not believe that this measure has any meaning for the Russians,” said Cyprus Foreign Ministry Secretary General Cornelios Corneliou.
Let us remind you that at an informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the EU countries on August 30-31 in Prague, visa restrictions against Russia will be discussed.
Previously, Poland changed its visa policy towards Russians - since the beginning of the SVO in Ukraine, Poland has issued only 4,5 thousand visas to Russian citizens, while for the entire last year there were more than 31 thousand. Thus, the issuance of visas to Russians has decreased by approximately three times.
From August 18, Estonia will not allow Russian citizens with Schengen visas that it issued earlier. Latvia and Lithuania have also stopped issuing new tourist visas to Russian citizens.
Finland, which has Europe's longest border with Russia, will reduce the number of Russian tourist visa applications to just 1% of the usual rate of 10 applications received per day from September 1000. Finnish legislation excludes a complete ban on issuing visas based on the applicant's nationality.
Portugal, Greece, and Cyprus have spoken out against the Iron Curtain for Russians.