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EU nations punishing themselves by casting iron curtain against Russia, Duma speaker says

It is noted that Europe will lose 21 billion euro because of entry restrictions on Russian citizens

MOSCOW, August 25. /TASS/. European countries will face huge losses if they ban entry to Russian nationals who have places to go on vacation both inside and outside their country, State Duma (the lower house of parliament) Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin wrote on Telegram on Thursday.

The politician pointed out that countries who had lost their sovereignty, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, the Czech Republic, Poland and Ukraine, remained caught up in "a frenzy, making proposals"to ban entry to Russians. "According to the most conservative estimates, Europe will lose 21 billion euro because of entry restrictions on Russian citizens," Volodin noted. "They are punishing themselves by casting an iron curtain driven by their own stupidity and narrow-mindedness," he added.

The State Duma speaker emphasized that "80% of the world’s population does not support sanctions against Russia"and Russians "have places to visit." "However, it's better to develop our own infrastructure. There are lots of wonderful places in our country. We need to do everything to create conditions for domestic travel and leisure," Volodin concluded.

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Foreign policy Vyacheslav Volodin

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