BackEU should not be a 'supermarket' for rich Russians, says Ukraine's Zelenskiy
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said his did not apply to Russians who needed help for risking their freedom or their lives by resisting Russian President Vladimir Putin's policies.
PremiumUkrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on 12 August issued a fresh call European Union countries seeking visas ban for Russian nationals to keep the bloc from becoming a "supermarket" open to anyone with the means to enter.
Though, Zelenskiy said his did not apply to Russians who needed help for risking their freedom or their lives by resisting Russian President Vladimir Putin's policies.
"There must be guarantees that Russian killers or accomplices of state terror not use Schengen visas," Reuters quoted Zelenskiy in a nightly address as saying. He was referring to visas granting the holder access to the border-free Schengen Area that spans several EU states.
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"Secondly, we must not destroy the very idea of Europe - our common European values. Europe must therefore not be transformed into a supermarket where it is not important who walks in and where the main thing is that people just pay for their goods," he added.
Earlier this week, Zelenskiy had requested a visa ban during an interview with the Washington Post, noting that Russians should live in their own world until they changed their philosophy.
However, the Ukrainian President's appeal has yet to win support from the EU's major players. Meanwhile, Zelenskiy said he was heartened by support from the ex-Soviet Baltic states and the Czech Republic. Also, Finland has too backed teh notion.
Russian spokesperson Dmitry Peskov denounced Zelenskiy's appeal this week, saying "any attempt to isolate Russians or Russia is a process that has no prospects".
With Reuters inputs.
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