German chancellor opposes joint ban on Russians entering EU

According to Scholz, such a decision would be contrary to international law.

He explained his attitude by saying that it is Russian dictator Vladimir Putin who is responsible for the war against Ukraine.

“The president of Russia is responsible for this war,” Scholz said.

“This is Putin’s war, so I find it difficult to agree with this idea.”

The German chancellor reiterated that the EU had already adopted a number of decisions on sanctions against decision-makers in Moscow.

“We will continue this,” he said.

He added that he does not consider it justified to impose sanctions against all Russians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in an interview with U.S. newspaper the Washington Post said that a visa ban for Russian citizens could be one of the most effective measures against Russia.

The idea of a complete ban on entry to Western countries for all Russians is gaining more and more supporters: in addition to Ukraine, such calls are voiced by Russia’s European neighbors. Many of them have already closed their borders to Russian citizens, but demand a collective decision from the EU countries.

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin announced on Aug. 8 that she wants to limit the travel of Russians to Finland and other EU countries.

Earlier the Latvian Embassy in Russia said it had stopped issuing visas to Russians for an indefinite period.

Estonia announced on Aug. 11 that it would ban Russians with Estonian-issued Schengen visas from entering the country from Aug. 18.