The German government has spoken out in favour of suspending a European visa agreement with Moscow which makes it easier for Russian citizens to enter countries of the European Union, EU.
Such an approach could be “quite a good bridge” between the contrasting positions in the EU over entry restrictions for Russians, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Tuesday on the sidelines of a Cabinet retreat north of Berlin.
Berlin’s position, she said, was between those who no longer wanted to grant visas to Russians at all and those who wanted to carry on as before.
Baerbock said multiple-entry visas with a validity period of several years should no longer be issued.
“In order to avoid punishing members of civil society, journalists, well-known opposition figures and students, for example, should still be able to travel to the EU, Baerbock said.
dpa/NAN
