Hungary continues to issue Schengen visas to Russian citizens – Szijjártó
Hungary continues to issue Schengen visas to Russian citizens, despite the fact that the procedure has become more complicated – said Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó on Friday.
In an interview with the Russian news agency TASSSZ, Szijjártó explained that the recent suspension of the visa facilitation agreement with Moscow by the EU does not mean a visa ban.
“No decision was made to stop issuing Schengen visas to Russians” said Szijjártó.
The minister admitted that due to the absence of a visa facilitation agreement, issuing visas is a “more complicated and slightly longer process” than when such an agreement existed.
“But if there is none, it does not mean that we do not issue visas. Of course, we will continue to issue visas in accordance with the procedure,” said the minister.
Szijjártó’s comments were made on the same day that his Finnish counterpart, Pekka Haavisto, announced a ban on the entry of Russians with tourist visas, regardless of whether these visas were issued by Finland or any other Schengen country.
Helsinki’s decision came after Russian nationals were admitted to Finland amid the ongoing partial mobilization of reservists from Russia.
In response to Moscow’s military offensive in Ukraine, several states have imposed various visa restrictions on Russian citizens, and the Baltic states and Poland have closed their borders to Russians with short-term Schengen visas.