The former foreign minister called on Europe to more carefully check Russians who apply for a visa.
Ukraine insists that the EU countries deprive all Russians of the right to enter the territory of Europe, but so far not all are ready to satisfy this request. Meanwhile, the Kremlin takes advantage of the situation and sends FSB agents abroad under the guise of ordinary tourists. This was stated by the former head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Pavlo Klimkin in an interview with TSN.
According to the diplomat, Europeans should be very attentive and careful with citizens of the Russian Federation, because there are a large number of Kremlin agents among them.
“It's hard to imagine how many FSB agents there are among Russian tourists. I told my Brussels friends about it. Now the embassies have been cleared of these agents. Bulgaria, which has always been considered pro-Russian, immediately expelled 70 diplomats. Now they will travel like tourists. Now, when a Russian applies for a visa, let the Europeans consider this application for three months, six months. That is, it is a matter of security. This problem needs to be solved: consistently and strictly. And I think we will prove it to our partners,” Klimkin said.
Iryna Sushko, the executive director of the NGO “Europe Without Barriers” agrees with the ex-minister, who believes that blocking visas for Russians – not only a matter of security, but also a blow to their self-esteem.
“This is a tool that should primarily be aimed at showing Russia that they are in a “vacuum”. This should strike at their self-love… at their dignity, at their image, at their sense of closure – that the whole world turns away from them. I think that this is a new type of sanctions that can give even more effect than any other previous sanctions that were introduced,” Sushko told the journalists of Suspilny.
Read also: The Cabinet of Finland will discuss restrictions on issuing visas to Russians
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