Lithuania’s top diplomat proposes Russians’ stance on Crimea as key criterium for entry
Russian nationals who are willing to cross Lithuania’s border may be banned from entering the Baltic nation unless they speak against Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine or recognize Crimea as a Ukrainian territory, Delfi quoted Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis as saying on Tuesday, Qazet.az reports.
Lithuania’s foreign minister said border control officers would be fully authorized to ask Russian citizens about their position on their country’s activities in Ukraine and to specify "whose Crimea is."
"Based on their reply, if an individual crossing the border of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland or Poland says that he thinks Crimea is not occupied it would be possible to assume that this person’s entry would not serve the interests of national security," Landsbergis said. This criterium may be crucial for an entry ban, he emphasized.
Earlier, Lithuania’s top diplomat urged EU countries to immediately cancel Schengen tourist visas that had been previously issued to Russians. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu criticized such "Russophobic ideas" as smacking of ‘Nazi tactics.".