Listen to the news

Greece and Cyprus are backing Germany's position by opposing the blocking of visas for Russian tourists who want to visit the EU, rejecting Ukraine's call for such a ban, Politico reports. 

This would be an incorrect decision, the permanent secretary of the Cypriot Foreign Ministry, Cornelius Corneliou, told Politico.

We believe in people-to-people contacts and the Cypriot authorities issue visas even to citizens of Turkey, so we do not think that this measure should apply to Russians, he added. 

Chinese, Turkish and Russian investors turn their backs on Greek 'golden visas'

As "Politico" reports, citing representatives of the Greek government, their country is also not considering the possibility of changing the status of Russian visas.

In recent weeks, officials from Estonia, Finland, Latvia and Lithuania have proposed an EU-wide ban on tourist visas for Russians, but German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has voiced his opposition, saying the Russian president should be blamed for the war in Ukraine, not Russia people. 

EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss calls for a tourist ban at a meeting in Prague at the end of August, BTA notes.

Greece

Cyprus

visas for Russians