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ANALYSIS | Europe can't decide if it wants to punish ordinary Russians for Putin's war

2022-08-18T11:05:54.412Z


Some countries are implementing limitations on entry visas for Russian citizens. But not everyone agrees.


Video summary of the war Ukraine - Russia: August 17 11:39

(CNN) --

Finland, a country that shares a 1,335-kilometre border with Russia, announced this week that it will halve the number of visa applications from Russian citizens.

Currently, 1,000 Russians can apply for Finnish visas each day, but from September 1 that number will be reduced to 500. Jussi Tanner, director general of consular services at the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told CNN that a maximum of 20% of those places will be used for tourist visas, which means that there will be no more than 100 tourist visas available per day.

The move comes after Estonia, another European Union nation bordering Russia, barred even Russians who already had visas from entering the country.

According to Reuters, it is about 50,000 people.

The Czech Republic and Latvia have also supported a visa ban and have taken steps to restrict Russians from traveling to the EU.

  • Vladimir Putin targets the United States and offers weapons to Latin America, Asia and Africa

The proposal was first put forward by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky, who wants to bar Russians from entering the bloc, where they can travel freely for 90 days in the EU's common travel zone, the Schengen area.

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Not everyone agrees.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz says that while it is important to sanction members of President Vladimir Putin's inner circle, Europeans must "also understand that there are many people fleeing Russia because they disagree with the Russian regime." .

A senior German diplomat told CNN that Scholz's argument is not based on facts, "because anyone can apply for a humanitarian visa."

The diplomat believes that Scholz is above all trying to "balance his own party, which is divided between those who want to dialogue with Russia and those who want to appear tough."

Advocates of limiting Russian visas believe the argument is clear enough.

Alexander Stubb, former prime minister and foreign minister of Finland, who had previously advocated visa liberalization with Russia, told CNN: "It's a sad situation, but the price of war must be paid by Russian citizens." .

Journalists narrate how they managed to escape from Russia 3:53

He said that "the only way to change the hearts and minds of the Russian people is for them to understand that what Putin is doing is a flagrant violation of international law. That means a total visa ban for Russians."

Rasa Juknevičienė, a former Lithuanian defense minister and current member of the European Parliament, says that "this is first and foremost a security issue."

Russian citizens travel to the EU mainly through Finland and Estonia.

The official services of these countries are under enormous pressure.

Russia is controlled by the structures inherited from the KGB, which take advantage of the opening of the Schengen countries for various operations," Juknevičienė told CNN.

European leaders are unlikely to reach full agreement on this issue.

Although the EU has largely stood together since the start of the war and has come together to impose serious economic sanctions on Russia, there is a geographical reality that complicates any consensus among 27 countries with very different economic and political priorities.

Western and southern EU countries, which are somewhat shielded from Kremlin aggression due to great distance, are quick to remind the hawks that Russia is a very large part of the larger region of Europe.

Therefore, it is not only extremely difficult, but probably not particularly productive, to simply ignore Russia.

Once the war is over, European economies will want to reestablish ties with Russia.

Not only is this beneficial to those countries, but it could also prove valuable in a post-conflict propaganda war to convince average Russians of the benefits of European values.

Strategically, most serious figures also agree that any post-war European security plan will have to involve Russia, and it is far better for Moscow to proactively engage and work with its European neighbors.

At the other end of the spectrum, there are countries like Poland, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia that have already suffered enough at the hands of Russia, both at the hands of the oppressive dictatorship of the Soviet Union and, more recently, from the Kremlin's threat of Putin.

These are the conflicting factors that make managing Putin and Russia so difficult.

  • ANALYSIS |

    A three-week trip along the front lines in Ukraine taught me this: The tide of war is unlikely to turn anytime soon.

Will the EU work with Putin if he remains in power after the war?

If not, how different should the regime that follows be from Putin's to satisfy the bloc?

What should be included in a hypothetical treaty to guarantee the different European leaders that Russia will not cause more conflicts?

What could the EU be willing to concede to negotiate peace?

Do not forget that Ukraine is now a candidate for EU membership.

All these big questions give rise to smaller ones, such as what to do during the visa conflict.

And the longer the war lasts, as the West's options for sanctions and retaliation become increasingly limited, the more such questions will arise.

The harsh reality is that these little issues, headaches in themselves, must be balanced against the best long-term outcome of this bleak period.

And the harsh truth is that one thing will never change: Europe cannot simply ignore Russia.

Europe War in Ukraine

Source: cnnespanol

All news articles on 2022-08-18

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