Russia suspends visa agreements with the EU and other European countries

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MADRID, 4 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree suspending visa facilitation agreements with the European Union, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Switzerland and Liechtenstein.

The decree, published this Monday by the Kremlin, emerges as a “necessary” response to the “hostile actions of the European Union” that arose after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to the TASS news agency.

By virtue of this new measure approved by Putin, the simplified process for delivery of documentation on the reasons for the trip to Russia is suspended; as well as multiple visas, normally given to journalists or official delegations.

Five-year visas for parliamentarians or members of governments of the sanctioned countries are also suspended; The exemption from visa fees for official delegations is eliminated, as well as entry into Russia without the need for a visa for holders of diplomatic passports.

Along these lines, the Russian Foreign Ministry has also approved restricting access and stay in the country to those “foreign citizens and stateless persons who commit hostile acts against Russia, its citizens or legal entities.”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov already announced last week that the Kremlin was in the process of developing a law through which measures would be taken against countries that had taken “hostile actions” against Moscow.