EU divided over restricting Russian travel
The Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU presidency, faced stiff resistance from some European Union states on Tuesday over moves to restrict travel by Russians over Moscow's war in Ukraine. The Czechs want to suspend a 2007 deal that eased visa applications for Russian tourists, while some other members have urged an outright visa ban. But some EU countries including Hungary, Luxembourg or Austria have raised objections. "There is no place for tourism," said Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky, who is hosting an informal two-day meeting of the bloc's foreign ministers in Prague. Tightening visa restrictions would "send a signal to the elite in Moscow and St Petersburg" which is now free to travel, he added. But Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto objected. "I don't think that the visa ban is an appropriate decision under the current circumstances," he said. Budapest has resisted efforts to isolate Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine. Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn also expressed reservations. "We must not have a new Iron Curtain in Europe," he argued. "We all agreed in the beginning that this was (Russian President Vladimir) Putin's war." Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said: "The EU must not make a sweeping judgement on 140 million people (in Russia)." The Czech Republic stopped issuing visas for Russians on February 25, a day after Russia entered Ukraine. The only exceptions were for civil society actors or humanitarian cases. Russia's neighbours Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have urged Brussels to ban Russian tourists from obtaining visas for the EU's Schengen common travel area. Estonia Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said it was time to target ordinary Russians, following the earlier visa restrictions imposed on Russia's official delegations and business leaders. "These silent private people should also understand there are consequences of the war," he said. "What is literally paid by their tax money is bombs which now literally in these moments are killing Ukrainian children and are bombing... hospitals, kindergartens, schools." (AFP)