Finland to bar entry to all Russian tourists

RT
Wed, 21 Sep 2022 22:05 UTC

© Antonio Masiello/Getty Images/Global Look Press/Tomas Tkacik/KJN

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto • Finnish PM Sanna Marin. NATO applicant outlines stance on hosting nuclear weapons Finnish PM Sanna Marin won't rule out the US-led bloc deploying weapons of mass destruction in the Nordic country.

Finland is working on new regulations that would further tighten restrictions on Russian tourists, Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto told journalists on Wednesday on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

"Finland does not want to be a transit country, not even for [holders of] Schengen visas issued by other nations," Haavisto said, adding that Helsinki seeks to bring the Russian tourist traffic "under control."

The Finnish Foreign Ministry is currently working with a group of experts on a "solution" to help Finland "limit this traffic or completely stop it," the foreign minister stated, adding that the measures might involve new laws or amendments to existing ones. In any case, the national parliament "will quickly deal with it," he said, without naming any specific dates for potential changes.

Unlike the Baltic states, which repeatedly cited "security reasons" for introducing visa restrictions against Russian tourists, Finland does not see Russians traveling to the EU as a security threat, Haavisto noted.

"An ordinary person traveling for the purpose of tourism is not a security threat," rather, there is "a moral and ethical principle involved," he said. Russians cannot continue to spend their vacations in Europe as usual when their nation is "waging a war," according to Haavisto.

Finland already has a mechanism in place that allows it to deny visas to Russians and deny entry to those who already have them. Earlier this week, Helsinki asked Brussels to allow EU nations denying entry to Russians to revoke their visas or place them on a Schengen entry ban list as well, thereby preventing people from entering the bloc through another member state's territory.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has questioned the EU visa restrictions against Russians. On Sunday, he said doing so "may not be a good idea," according to RIA Novosti.

The EU suspended a visa facilitation agreement with Russia earlier this month. Some member states also stopped issuing tourist and business visas, while the three Baltic states and Poland announced they would deny entry to all Russian citizens, even those with valid Schengen visas issued by other EU members.

Comment: The leverage is obvious. Make Russian citizens pay for the aggression of the West.

Visits by Russians to the European Union must come to a halt, Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin told journalists on Thursday, stating that her government is considering the security implications of Moscow's recently announced partial mobilization.

"The will of the government is very clear. In our opinion, it is necessary to put an end to Russian travel, tourism, as well as transit through Finland."

She added that Finland should act in accordance with Schengen regulations but also take into consideration the "security risks" associated with certain travelers.

"Other countries, for example, the Baltic states and Poland, have used this very security risk and threat as a basis for preventing people from entering, but of course we need an assessment of this from our own authorities."

Finnish authorities have repeatedly stated that the freedom to travel to the country and the rest of Europe is not an intrinsic human right but a "privilege," which they claim Russian citizens do not deserve in light of the ongoing military conflict between Moscow and Kiev.