Following a two-day informal meeting in Prague, the European foreign ministers have reached political consensus to fully suspend the visa facilitation agreement between the European Union and Russia.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, said in a news conference following the meeting that this decision “will significantly reduce the number of new visas issued by the EU member states” given that the process would become more difficult and take longer.
Visas were already restricted to some categories of Russian nationals. Borrell said that this is not a legal text but only a political agreement at this point.
The agreement will have to be approved by all member states at an European Council level.
Borrell said that since mid-July, there has been a “substantial increase on border crossings from Russia in neighboring states,” which has become “a security risk for these states.”
“We have seen many Russians traveling for leisure and shopping as if no war was raging in Ukraine,” Borrell said.
“It cannot be business as usual,” he added.
More security assistance for Ukraine
Meanwhile, John Kirby, the United States’ National Security Council coordinator for strategic communications, said Wednesday to expect another announcement of military aid for Ukraine in the coming days.
“We … committed more than $13 billion of security assistance to the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and we will continue to do that. And there will be announcements of future security assistance in the coming days,” he told reporters.
US aid provided so far: This would come after US President Joe Biden announced $2.98 billion in military assistance for Ukraine last Wednesday. The US has provided approximately $13 billion in military aid to Ukraine since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began Feb. 24, a National Security Council official told CNN.
Since the beginning of the war, the US has provided $7 billion in grants for direct budget support and over $1.5 billion of humanitarian aid for Ukraine and Ukrainian refugees, the official said.
