MOSCOW, September 12. /TASS/. Russia has never been a supporter of limiting ties with EU countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko told reporters on Monday.
"We have never been supporters of restricting contacts. Let me remind you that the EU itself with these steps undermines the principles of international cooperation, which they claimed to stand for decades," he pointed out, responding to a TASS question about the introduction of retaliatory measures to visa restrictions by the EU.
Grushko noted that it was at the insistence of the West that the 1975 Helsinki Final Act included provisions on freedom of movement and freedom of information, which "the European Union is so resolutely rejecting today."
On September 6, the European Commission (EC) approved a proposal to completely suspend the visa facilitation agreement with Russia. Brussels expects that this decision will be approved by the EU Council and will come into force by September 12. It is assumed that the cost of visas and terms of their registration will significantly increase, and their issuance for tourism purposes will be carried out in the last turn. The EC also calls on the EU countries to check the "trustworthiness" of those wishing to obtain visas.