Russian emigrants should remain silent about the possible visa ban – Denník N

The author is a commentator on Bloomberg Opinion There is one topic on which Russians, who are against Vladimir Putin and his war in Ukraine, passionately agree with the Kremlin – it is a proposal by some European countries to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians. This unfortunate alignment represents an absence of vision and leadership in the anti-Putin exile. Even before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called on Europe to stop letting in more Russians and send home those already there (he has since scaled back his call, saying Russian asylum seekers should still be granted visas), they began enforcing the ban visa some of the most persistent opponents of Russia, especially the Baltic countries. One of the public faces of the campaign is former Estonian president Toomas Hendrik Ilves. When Estonia banned Russians with valid Estonian visas from entering the Schengen area, this effort gained momentum. Stopping the issuance of Schengen visas was supported by Latvia, Finland and the Czech Republic, which holds the rotating presidency in the EU this half-year. These countries, most recently joined by Poland, would like to make it a common EU policy, despite the objections of some of the Union’s larger members. For example, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz spoke out against the idea; he said it was Putin’s war, not Russia’s. The Kremlin — unsurprisingly — has been infuriated by the campaign. “The only possible position we can take is extremely negative,” Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said last week. But this opinion was joined by Putin’s opponents of all types, including those This article is exclusive content for Denník N subscribers.Are you a subscriber?Log in