Estonia aims to stop most Russians from entering the country within weeks, if possible acting in concert with its regional partners, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said on Wednesday.
"It takes some time, but I think timing is also critical, looking at these vast numbers of Russian citizens entering," Reinsalu told Reuters in Prague after a two-day meeting with his EU counterparts.
The EU was too divided to agree on a blanket ban, and also left unclear what unilateral measures Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Finland, which have land borders with Russia, could take to restrict access to Russian visitors.
However, Reinsalu said Estonia was going to work out a solution in its region through cooperation and based "on our national competence on the grounds of national security."
"I would very much welcome ... decisions in the coming days, coming weeks, where we will, in full accordance with the Schengen visa code, ban entry to our national territories of these people from the Russian Federation, not making any difference if they have Estonian-issued or second Schengen country-issued Schengen visa," the minister said.
