Sharjah 24 – AFP: The Czech Republic, which currently holds the EU presidency, faced stiff resistance from some European Union states Tuesday over moves to restrict travel by Russians following the invasion of Ukraine.
The Czechs want to suspend a 2007 deal that eased visa applications for Russian tourists, while some other members have urged an outright visa ban.
But some EU countries including Hungary, Luxembourg or Austria have raised objections.
But Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto objected.
Luxembourg's Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn also expressed reservations.
And Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said: "The EU must not make a sweeping judgement on 140 million people (in Russia)."
The Czech Republic stopped issuing visas for Russians, on February 25, a day after Russia had invaded Ukraine. The only exceptions were for civil society actors or humanitarian cases.
Russia's neighbours Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland have urged Brussels to ban Russian tourists from obtaining visas for the EU's Schengen common travel area.
Estonia Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said it was time to target ordinary Russians, following the earlier visa restrictions imposed on Russia's official delegations and business leaders.
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