Zelensky said his proposal did not apply to Russians who needed help to risk their freedom or lives by resisting the policies of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin. “There must be guarantees that Russian murderers or accomplices of state terrorism do not use Schengen visas,” Zelensky said in an overnight speech, referring to the visas that give the holder access to the border-free Schengen Area that spans several EU states. “Secondly, we must not destroy the very idea of Europe – our shared European values. So Europe must not turn into a supermarket where it does not matter who enters and where the main thing is that people just pay for their goods.” Zelensky first called for the visa ban in an interview this week with the Washington Post, saying Russians should live in their own world until they change their philosophy. Zelensky’s appeal has yet to win the support of major EU players. But he said he was encouraged by support from the former Soviet Baltic states and the Czech Republic, currently the EU’s rotating president. Finland also supported the idea. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced Zelensky’s call this week, saying “any attempt to isolate Russians or Russia is a process that has no perspective.” (Reporting by Ronald Popeski Editing by David Ljunggren and Sandra Maler)
