'EU to cancel visa facilitation agreement with Russia but not imposing blanket ban'

By Agnes Szucs

BRUSSELS (AA) - The European Union will cancel its visa facilitation agreement with Russia but there will not be a “general visa ban,” Hungary’s foreign minister said on Wednesday.

“There is no unanimity among the members of the (EU) Council on imposing a blanket ban against Russia,” Peter Szijjarto said after an informal meeting of EU foreign ministers in the Czech Republic’s capital Prague.

“At the same time, the EU will cancel its visa facilitation agreement with Russia,” he said, explaining that a majority of EU member states support this move.

An EU-wide ban on tourist visas for Russians was originally proposed by Estonia, Latvia, and Finland.

EU member states have been divided over the proposal, with France, Germany and others calling for the suspension of the visa facilitation agreement instead, arguing that the bloc should not cut ties with the Russian people.