Zakharova declared the readiness of the Russian Federation to open the border only to peaceful foreigners

Russia will not restrict entry or close borders to citizens of the European Union (EU), but welcomes those who travel with peace and good, positive intentions. This was stated on October 16 at a briefing by the official representative of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova.

"Our country remains an open, hospitable country. <...> We are not going to close down, restrict the entry of those who come to us with peace, with interest, with a positive, constructive agenda <...>. We close ourselves only from those who violate the law, profess nationalism, Nazism, which turns into even more monstrous forms. Who professes Russophobia. Here <...> we act according to the law," Zakharova said.

She stressed that Russia supports building bridges between people despite the anti-Russian position of the West. In addition, the monstrous, painful phobia of the EU leadership that Russians should be afraid of has long been discredited. If they do not stop promoting such a line, it will lead them to a dead end, as it has happened before, said the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

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At the same time, the head of the EU's diplomatic service, Kaya Kallas, said on October 12 that reducing the number of Russian tourist visas and working to ban former Russian combatants from entering the EU were crucial. According to Kallas, restrictions are necessary to reduce security risks within the European Union against the background of so-called hybrid attacks, the involvement of Russia in which has not been proven.

The newspaper Rapporteur reported on October 14 that Ireland was skeptical about Germany's proposal to restrict the issuance of visas to Russian tourists. Berlin has proposed issuing visas to Russian citizens that are valid only on the territory of the country that issued them.