The latest countries in Europe to restrict entry of Russian citizens into the EU has been announced on Friday, which will come into force on 19 September.
It is a significant move Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland are to restrict the entry of Russian citizens to across their borders after expressing concerns about security during the war in Ukraine.
In a joint statement the four countries said on Thursday, “Countries bordering Russia are increasingly concerned about the substantial and growing influx of Russian citizens to the European Union and the Schengen area through our borders.
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“We believe that this is becoming a serious threat to our public security and to the overall shared Schengen area.”
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas wrote on Twitter, “Today my government will decide to stop tourism from Russia to EU over our border.
“It’s a closely coordinated decision with [Latvia, Lithuania and Poland] in response to serious public security threats.
“This is not an outright ban, exceptions will remain.”
The Kremlin’s Foreign Ministry has vowed that Russia will not “close itself up” in response to the restrictions.
