Lipavský suggests banning visas for Russians as a new sanctions tool

A general halt to issuing visas for Russian citizens visiting EU member states could be used as a further effective sanction on the Russian Federation, Czechia’s Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský told the Czech News Agency on Wednesday. He said that he intends to bring up the subject at the meeting of EU foreign ministers in Prague at the end of August.

While the EU has banned direct flights from Russia to its territory, Russians are able to travel to most Shengen Area states with the use of visas that are issued by, for example, Finland. Earlier this week, the prime ministers of Estonia and Finland spoke in favour of Europe banning tourist visas for Russians.