Lithuania does not rule out “a regional solution” if the EU does not ban visas for Russian citizens

Aug. 24 () –

The Lithuanian Foreign Minister, Gabrielius Landsbergis, has advanced that they do not rule out implementing a solution at the “regional” level if the European Union is not for the work of prohibiting visas for Russian citizens.

Although Landsbergis has clarified that they are seeking an agreement with Brussels because it is “the most sustainable and legally correct”, in case it is not reached, Lithuania does not rule out the possibility of seeking “a regional solution” to not allow Russian citizens to move freely around the European continent.

That “regional solution” would encompass the other two Baltic States, Poland and “potentially Finland”, in line, explained Landsbergis, to the extent that Estonia already applies unilaterally. “The admission of certain people may be challenged in the interest of our national security,” she has said.

Landsbergis considers that if the Lithuanian Parliament has recognized Russia as a genocidal state and sponsor of terrorism, its citizens cannot travel freely through the countries of the European Union as tourists, although it would reserve humanitarian visas for those fleeing from the “regime”. .

In this sense, he has been in favor of all the border guards of the States of the European Union inquiring those Russian citizens who intend to arrive in the country not only about their purpose, but also about their opinions about the Kremlin’s policies in relation to Ukraine.

“The border guard has the right to ask if they support the war in Ukraine (…). If in the opinion of a person crossing the border Crimea is not occupied, we can assume that his admission does not meet the interests of national security”, the minister said, according to the Lithuanian public television channel LRT.