RTMon, 22 Aug 2022 10:27 UTC
© European Commission SpainJosep Borrell in Spain
Josep Borrell, the EU's most senior diplomat, has said he did not support banning all Russian citizens from visiting the bloc, an idea that some member states have supported.
Speaking during a political forum in Spain on Monday,
he called the proposal "controversial" and said the EU should be more targeted in its sanctions against Russia."Forbidding entrance to all Russians would not be a good idea. We have to be more selective. Of course, we must not open the doors to the oligarchs," the official said, pointing out that wealthy Russian individuals were free to buy real estate in the EU.
"But there are also many Russians who want to flee their country, because they don't want to live there. Are we going to close the door to those Russians?"The Ukrainian leadership has been vocally advocating punishing Russia by ceasing the issuance of most visas to Russian citizens. Ukraine's President Vladimir Zelensky has gone further,
suggesting that Russian nationals should be expelled from the EU regardless of their attitude toward the policies of their government. Those who fear returning to their home country could apply for asylum, he said.
Some nations, such as Finland and Estonia, have moved to restrict the issuance of visas to Russians, although other member states, notably Germany and Cyprus, have opposed this idea. The bloc said it was mulling what stance to take on visas for Russians.
Moscow has said such restrictions were
evidence that anti-Russian xenophobia was guiding the polices of some EU nations.
Borrell was speaking at an event called 'Quo Vadis Europa? The birth of a geopolitical Europe' in the Spanish city of Santander. The annual event was broadcast by the European Commission's Spanish office.
Comment: Doubling down on a bad idea, Borrell further commented. Zakharova responded:
The EU is considering establishing a major program to train Ukrainian troops in neighboring nations, Josep Borrell, has said. EU defense ministers will discuss the matter during a meeting in Prague on August 29.
Borrell, on the sidelines of a forum in Santander, Spain said on Monday:
"I hope it will be approved. The training program has to be up to the level of the conflict. It seems reasonable that a war that is lasting and looks set to last requires an effort not only in terms of supplies of material but also training and help to organize the army."
The US and Britain are already training Ukrainian soldiers in the use of Western-supplied weapons and are also teaching them battle tactics. The news agency Euractiv quoted EU sources as saying that Ukraine's foreign and defense ministers wrote a letter to Borrell last summer asking for a training program, and the bloc has since "drawn up several options."
Moscow has insisted that the Western military assistance to Ukraine will lead to more casualties but will not change the course of the conflict. Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova wrote on social media on Monday:
"We should call a spade a spade: the EU will set up bases to train terrorists and Nazi militants for the Kiev regime. A hundred years ago, the Europeans also didn't immediately realize what fascism is like. They realized later, but it was too late."
Comment: Doubling down on a bad idea, Borrell further commented. Zakharova responded: