Germany Pushes for Further Cuts to Tourist Visas for Russian Citizens
Berlin plans to cut Russian tourist visas further and tighten entry checks after accusing Moscow of a drone sabotage attempt.
- On Wednesday, German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Martin Giese announced plans to further reduce tourist visas for Russian citizens, stating travel formats cannot continue while Russia "wages an aggressive war."
- Germany's announcement follows its accusation on Monday that Russia orchestrated a sabotage attempt at Leipzig/Halle Airport, where investigators discovered explosive drones near a Ukrainian An-124 cargo plane.
- Concurrently, Germany ordered the Russian Consulate General in Bonn to close by September 18 and mandated staff at the "Russian House" in Berlin depart within seven days.
- Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova stated Moscow will respond to these decisions, while Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt warned on September 1 of potential future hybrid attacks.
- Giese indicated Berlin will negotiate with European Union partners to decrease visa numbers following a 2025 surge where EU countries issued 620,000 Schengen visas to Russian citizens, a 10.2% increase.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Germany Pushes for Further Cuts to Tourist Visas for Russian Citizens
German official Martin Giese stated during a press conference on September 2 that tourist trips by Russian citizens to Germany "cannot continue in the former format, as before, because there is no 'normality' while Russia is waging an aggressive war."
Germany intends to further reduce the number of tourist visas issued to Russian citizens after the outbreak of the large-scale war in Ukraine has decreased by about ten times. Berlin also announces stricter controls on the entry of Russians into the country, while Germany accuses Moscow of attempting to sabotage a Ukrainian cargo aircraft at Leipzig airport, Meduza announces.
After the full-scale war began, Germany cut visas issued to Russians tenfold. It plans to cut that number even further.
German Foreign Ministry spokesperson Martin Giese said Germany plans to further reduce the number of tourist visas it issues to Russian citizens, Deutsche Welle reported.
The German government is calling on its European partners to impose stricter restrictions on tourist travel to the European Union (EU) by Russian citizens.
Russian citizens' tourist visits to Germany "cannot continue in the same format", "as long as Russia is engaged in an aggressive war", said the representative of the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the DW question at a press conference in Berlin.
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