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Anti-Russian sanctions

EU to suspend agreement with Russia that eases visa rules — Hungarian foreign minister

As Peter Szijjarto said, the bottom line is that a complete ban on visas for Russian citizens will not come into force

PRAGUE, August 31. /TASS/. The EU will suspend the agreement with Russia that eases visa issuance but there won’t be a complete ban to issue Schengen visas to Russians, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said on Wednesday following a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

"The European Union will cancel the Visa Facilitation Agreement with Russia," he said in a video posted to a social network.

He said the EU was unable to reach a consensus about the proposal to ban the issuance of Schengen visas to Russians because some countries, including Hungary, opposed the idea.

"The bottom line is that a complete ban on visas for Russian citizens will not come into force," the minister said.

The idea of a ban to issue Schengen visas to Russians in connection with the events in Ukraine was backed by the Baltic countries and Poland, among others. Earlier, however, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said that he did not support such a proposal. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz also said that it’s hard to imagine Schengen visas won’t be issued to all Russians.

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