TBM Staff - Mumbai Germany and France have issued a joint warning against a ban on tourist visas for Russians, saying such a step, advocated by other European Union member states, would be counter-productive, reports Reuters. The split on tourist visas will be at the heart of a meeting of the bloc’s foreign ministers in Prague on Tuesday and Wednesday, as they discuss what further steps they can take to sanction Russia for its six-month old invasion of Ukraine.
“We caution against far-reaching restrictions on our visa policy, in order to prevent feeding the Russian narrative and trigger unintended rallying-around the flag effects and/or estranging future generations,” France and Germany said in the joint memo seen by Reuters.
The Kremlin said the calls for a visa ban on Russian tourists were the latest example of the West’s anti-Russian agenda.
“Step by step, unfortunately, both Brussels and individual European capitals are demonstrating an absolute lack of reason,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in a conference call.
