German Chancellor Scholz speaks his mind about banning Russian travellers

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke about the initiative to ban the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians.

The German chancellor said that he could hardly imagine a situation when Schengen visas would not be issued for Russian tourists.

It is the Russian administration, but not Russian citizens, that bears responsibility for the crisis in Ukraine. The European Union earlier imposed sanctions against Russian oligarchs who supported the government, and will continue to do so, Olaf Scholz said.

German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit earlier announced that the German federal government had not formulated a unified position on the visa ban for Russian citizens. However, the European Union still intends to discuss the suggestion not to issue Schengen visas to Russians.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky spoke about the need to ban all Russians from entering the countries of the West. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas supported Zelensky's suggestion. There are no flights from Russia to Europe now, she recalled, but those Russians who have Schengen visas can still enter the EU through closest land neighbors — Finland, Estonia and Latvia. Kallas called an opportunity to visit Europe a privilege, rather than a human right, and urged to terminate tourist ties with Russia.