Lithuania bars entry to Russian citizens
New Delhi: Russian citizens with active Schengen visas will not be able to enter Lithuania starting at 00:00 Monday
On Monday, the September 13 Sejm decision enters into effect, which prolongs the state of emergency until December 15 and bars entry for Russian citizens, including those with active Schengen visas.
This decree was also supported by Poland and the rest of the Baltic States. Meanwhile, Vilnius made exceptions for certain categories of Russians, including diplomats, representatives of the opposition, employees of shipment companies moving cargo to other EU states, and family members of people who have EU residence permits or citizenship.
According to Lithuanian authorities, over 83,000 Russian citizens crossed the Lithuanian border, including those traveling to the Kaliningrad Region of Russia. Since January 1 this year, over 395,000 Russian citizens arrived in the republic, with over 180,000 people traveling through. A total of 861 were not allowed into Lithuania due to violations of the Schengen Code.
In 2021, the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted the importance of Lithuania’s support for Ukraine’s European Union and NATO aspirations, while the Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda noted that Lithuania supports Ukraine’s progress and welcomes reforms in Ukraine.
On the other side, Lithuania strengthened its NATO membership by ratifying the NATO Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA), which regulates deployment of one of the NATO member’s forces in other member’s territory.
(Vinayak)
