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Finland and Estonia demand a ban on tourist visas from the EU for Russians 

Finland and Estonia demand a ban on tourist visas from the EU for Russians

The leaders of Estonia and Finland have asked other EU countries to stop issuing tourist visas to Russian citizens, arguing they should not be able to travel to Europe on holiday while the Kremlin is waging a devastating war on Ukraine.

Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas declared that "visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right" and that "it is time to end tourism from Russia".

In response, former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev compared Kallas to a "Nazi".

A day earlier, her Finnish counterpart Sanna Marin said in a television interview that "it is not fair that while Russia is waging an aggressive and brutal war in Ukraine, Russians can live a normal life, travel to Europe, be tourists".

Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto has recently stated that the government would limit the number of tourist visas issued to Russians, but hoped that the EU would take a common position on the issue and stop issuing new visas altogether.