US responds to calls for visa ban on Russians; 'disagreement' with Putin, not citizens

On Friday, the US Department of State deputy spokesperson stated that US authorities do not want to harm or cause any impact of US sanctions on the Russian people, and the government is unlikely to ban visas for Russians. This came after Ukraine, along with a few other countries called on the West to stop issuing visas to Russian citizens over Putin's "unjustified" action of launching the war against neighboring Ukraine. While speaking to reporters, Vedant Patel, Principal Deputy Spokesperson of the Bureau of Global Public Affairs, said the US government has already taken a number of hard steps against Russia and those steps are having a drastic impact on the invading country.

"About any visa ban, we’ve been very clear that we intend our actions to not harm or have a significant impact on the Russian people. That is not who our disagreement with is on this," said Patel.

Speaking on the US sanctions against Moscow, the State deputy spokesperson said, "The US government has already taken a number of significant and effective steps to respond to Putin’s war of choice, from export controls as well as sanctions and economic consequences as well." He further added saying, "Our unprecedented sanctions are having a drastic impact on Russia. Russia’s stock market has lost a third of its value, inflation has risen 20 per cent, and Russia’s imports of goods from around the world could fall by 40 per cent. "

Germany rejects calls for ban on visas for Russians

Germany on Thursday rejected calls for an EU ban on travel visas for Russians, arguing that sanctions against Russia should not harm "innocent people". While speaking at a news conference in Berlin, Chancellor Olaf Scholz asserted, "This is Putin's war" and sanctions should only target Putin along with those responsible for the destruction in Ukraine. Further emphasizing his government's decision to bar entry for high-ranking Russian officials, oligarchs, and powerful Russian groups, he stated that this is a "concrete" step against Russia and that further extending these measures to all, including innocent Russian citizens, would lessen the severity of these sanctions, according to aa.com.tr.

Countries in favour of Russia visa ban

Earlier, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy, while speaking in an interview with the Washington Post, stated that Western countries should ban entry to all Russians. Also, Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas called on EU countries to ban the issuance of tourist visas to Russian nationals. She said, "Visiting Europe is a privilege and not a human right." Later, the Finnish government also demanded the same and stated that travel restrictions should be imposed if a large number of Russians sought to travel to other European nations using visas issued by Finland.

Image: AP