The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Germany, Annalena Berbock, declared her readiness to compromise on the proposal to limit the right of Russian tourists to visit the European Union, in the context of which some member states are demanding a tough and unified position in response to Russian military aggression against Ukraine.

At a joint press conference with her Danish counterpart Jeppe Kofod in Copenhagen on Friday, Annalena Berbock said the chancellor’s office and the German foreign ministry agreed that a solution should involve the whole of Europe, German news agency DPA reported, as quoted by Agerpres.

European countries have not yet been able to agree on possible measures. Some EU countries bordering Russia, including Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have already restricted the rights of Russian citizens to visit these countries.

Olaf Scholz has currently stated that he is “not willing” to introduce such a ban

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has so far been reluctant to impose a blanket ban on Russian citizens entering the EU, arguing that such restrictions could make it harder to welcome Russians who oppose the invasion of Ukraine.

“This is Putin’s war, and that’s why I don’t want to approve this proposal,” he said at a press conference two weeks ago.

He confirmed his position on Thursday during a public debate in the German city of Magdeburg. “This is Putin’s war. It’s not about the Russians. No one should make such a generalization,” Scholz said. At the same time, he added that he can understand the position of EU countries neighboring Russia.

The EU countries neighboring Russia still want to ban the entry of Russian tourists

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said on Tuesday that Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, which share a border with Russia, could ban Russian tourists from entering their territory if the EU does not adopt restrictions at the level of the community bloc.

“I discussed with the ministers of all these countries. I don’t see much difference from a political point of view. Russian tourists should not be in the European Union. Their country is involved in genocide,” Landsbergis said in Vilnius.

At the beginning of last week, Finland decided to ban Russian tourists from entering the European Union.

“Citizens of Russia did not start the war, but at the same time we must realize that they support the war. I don’t think it’s right that Russian citizens can enter the EU and the Schengen area and go to admire the scenery while Russia is killing people in Ukraine,” said Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin.

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