Moscow won’t be in any hurry with its response to the new visa restrictions imposed on Russian citizens by the EU, Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko explained on Monday.
The comment comes on the day when the bloc fully suspended its visa facilitation agreement with Russia. Talking to journalists, Grushko said “there is no rush” in taking retaliatory measures to what he described as “yet another [example of] stupidity” from the EU.
The senior diplomat accused Brussels of attempting to divide Russian society into the “right and wrong” people, and of “undermining the principles of international cooperation.”
“What kind of response can there be to stupidity? Let’s see how this will affect contacts between people. We have never been supporters of restrictions on contacts,” the deputy minister said.
On Sunday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also said that Moscow considers it inappropriate to introduce retaliatory visa restrictions for citizens of EU countries.
This echoed the remarks of the country’s President Vladimir Putin, who said earlier that tit-for-tat measures would be against Russia’s interests.
Starting September 12, Russian citizens will have to pay visa application fees of €80 instead of the previous €35, and will have to provide significantly more documentation, endure longer processing times and be subject to much stricter rules for the issuance of multiple-entry visas.