Latvia Asking Russians Crossing Its Borders to Sign Document Condemning War in Ukraine
According to the State Security Service, the country has decided to impose such a requirement in order to identify individuals who support the war in Ukraine and who may pose a threat to the national security of Latvia, AtoZSerwisPlus.com reports.
“The purpose of the inspections is to identify persons who support Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and may pose a threat to Latvia’s national security,” the statement of the State Security Service reads.
In addition, it was revealed that during the border inspections, special attention is paid to foreigners who have once served in the power structures of Russia or Belarus, as well as to those who publicly demonstrate symbols glorifying the Russian aggression.
“A large number of foreigners who were refused entry to Latvia openly expressed their support for Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine and its people, using typical Kremlin war propaganda messages,” the State Security Service stated.
According to the State Security Service, 62 foreigners have been denied entry to Latvia at the border crossing points so far. Of all people that have been denied entry, 41 were citizens of Russia, 14 of them were citizens of Belarus, and another seven were citizens of other countries.
The authorities explained that these 62 individuals had been denied entry to Latvia as they could pose a threat to Latvia’s national security.
Apart from requiring Russian to sign such a document, Latvia has also stopped issuing visas to citizens of Russia, and it has cancelled those that are valid for travel in the Schengen Area.
Last week, the Latvian government announced that the country had decided to suspend the cross-border deal with Russia. The government noted that the travel agreement had been stopped due to the closure of the Latvian consulate in Pskov.
Citizens of Finland have also required their country to stop issuing visas to Russians and to cancel the visas that have already been issued.
Finns made such a requirement through a citizen’s initiative, which counts more than 7,000 declarations of support until now.
Finns have said that Finland must follow the example of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania. They have called on the government to terminate the issuance of visas for all persons except for those applying for a visa for humanitarian or other similar reasons.
Additionally, Finns have also required that the government maximises sanctions against the entire population of Russia and stops allowing them to use Finland as a transit country.