7 Baltic, Nordic countries urge Russian soldiers to be banned from entering Schengen zone

​​​​​​​By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – Seven Baltic and Nordic countries urged Friday that Russian soldiers be banned from entering the Schengen zone.

Warning that the treat from Russia to the security of the EU will remain even after the war in Ukraine ends, the interior ministers of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland, Norway, Sweden and Poland said, “Member States should take all necessary measures to ensure that individuals who are or have been contracted by the Russian armed forces or other armed groups acting on behalf of the regime are not allowed to undermine our security or move freely within the Schengen Area,” in a statement.

“In particular, it is important to avoid granting residence permits or visas to those who have participated in the war of aggression against Ukraine,” it added.

Estonian Interior Minister Igor Taro maintained that hundreds of thousands of Russians who fought in the war against Ukraine should not be allowed to travel freely in the Schengen zone.

“We will not grant them residence permits, we will not grant them visas, because this whole group, which has killed and destroyed there (in Ukraine), poses a very serious security threat to all of us,” he told Estonian public broadcaster ERR about the statement.