Austria urges EU not to make a mistake by banning visas for Russians

Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg urged the European Union not to make a mistake when it sticks to the ban on issuing visas to Russians, if the ban is passed, because of the conflict in Ukraine.

“We must not make a mistake by banning the issuance of visas to 144 million Russians,” the minister said during a conference in Paris on Monday.

He added that against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine, “we need to think about tomorrow, next week and next month” in relations with Russia, noting that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe will play its role in this. this issue, noting that this is one of the few platforms where there are still Russian diplomats.

Last year, the Austrian foreign minister criticized Poland’s decision not to invite Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov to attend a ministerial conference of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in the Polish city of Lodz, where Poland chaired the organization last year.

The Austrian minister has pointed out in his previous statements that European security cannot be built without Russia.

It is worth noting that in September 2022, the Council of the European Union suspended the travel facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia, which made it almost impossible for Russian citizens to obtain a Schengen visa.

Source: News

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