Former Estonian president proposes ban on entry of Russians to the EU: quite

“Maybe we should make a break for everyone, I mean all the visits from Russia. Even before the invasion of Crimea, these people were proudly demanding an EU visa-free regime. Just freeze the visas, rejecting exceptional family circumstances. The European security is at stake. Ghana “, – April 17. wrote T. Ilves on his Twitter account.

Some commentators objected that then ordinary citizens who are not responsible for the actions of their state leader will suffer.

“Those who you don’t want to see in the EU will find ways to get here with their Cypriot passports anyway. You will just punish those who seek to see things from a different angle.

Maybe there should be a “time out” for anyone and I mean * any * visit from Russia.

Until the invasion of Crimea, these people arrogantly demanded visa-free travel to the EU.
Just freeze visas except for family emergencies.
What is at stake is the security of Europe.
Enough.
– toomas hendrik ilves (@IlvesToomas) April 17, 2021

Students, families, etc. So, no, bad idea. He speaks strange and sharp, “writes Alexander Peters.

“It just came to our attention then. Yes, this will negatively affect the Russians. But given Russia’s behavior, this is inevitable. There are also ‘students, families, etc.’ in the West. Just stop killing them,” replied TH Ilves. to the commentator.

“Shoot down civilian planes, poison and kill people in Europe, invade and occupy states. To me, it sounds like an outlaw state, ”he added.

On Tuesday, TH Ilves received a reaction from Russia.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko assured that he should speak with the Turkish and Greek authorities about the importance of tourists from Russia.

“You should talk to the leaders of countries like Turkey and Greece about the importance of tourism and tourists from Russia,” Gruško said.

TH Ilves was the President of Estonia from 2006 to 2016. From 1999 to 2002 he served as the country’s Minister of Foreign Affairs.

Russia has recently reestablished its focus on the West, not only because of the deteriorating health of jailed opponent Alexei Navaln, but also because of the concentration of huge forces on Ukraine’s borders.

A Pentagon spokesman said on Monday that Russia had already mobilized more forces on the border with Ukraine than in 2014, when it invaded Crimea.

According to him, this deployment is a “very serious concern”.

European Union foreign policy chief Joseph Borrell said early Monday that 150,000 people had been deployed to the border with Ukraine. Russian soldiers. A little later, his own service reduced this number to 100,000 without explanation.

US Defense Department spokesman John Kirby declined to give a specific number.

“This is without a doubt the largest concentration we have seen since 2014, when Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity were violated,” Kirby told a news conference. – is really bigger [kariuomenės sutelkimas] than last time in 2014. “

“I will not mention the specific figures or the deployment of the army,” he said, emphasizing: “We really continue to see the mobilization, [jis] as before, we are very concerned. “

“We do not believe that this concentration contributes to security and stability on the border with Ukraine and it certainly does not help in occupied Crimea,” Kirby said.

“We really hear the Russians announce that it is all about the exercise. It is not entirely clear to us that that is really the goal,” he added.

A Ukrainian soldier was killed and another injured in clashes with Moscow-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine on Sunday. With the resumption of tensions between Kiev and Moscow, fighting in eastern Ukraine has intensified.

Ukraine fears that the Kremlin will find an excuse to attack.

The war in eastern Ukraine, which began seven years after the annexation of Crimea, has already cost more than 13,000 people. lives, and nearly 1.5 million. people were forced to leave their homes.