Baltic countries, Poland to restrict entry for Russian tourists - Estonian Foreign Minister Reinsalu

This was stated by the Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Urmas Reinsalu.

"Estonia has a political will, which we implement in the legal field. On the night of September 18 to 19, a ban on entry into Estonia through the Schengen external border for citizens of the Russian Federation will come into effect, regardless of which country issued the Schengen visa," he said.

It is known that a similar restriction on entry for Russian citizens with Schengen tourist visas, regardless of the country in which they were issued, will be introduced by the Baltic states and Poland from September 19.

"Together with Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, we want to significantly limit the entry of Russian citizens whose purpose is tourism. Today, together with the prime ministers of Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland, we will make a statement on this matter. We have already assessed it as necessary," Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.

Kallas singled out security issues as one of the reasons for imposing entry restrictions, as Estonia cannot control everyone who arrives.  She noted that the restrictions should include exceptions for visiting family members, dissidents, and holders of residence permits.

Kallas also noted that since air traffic was suspended due to the sanctions imposed against Russia, there was a very heavy burden on the countries bordering Russia.