Portugal Against Prohibiting Russians From Entering EU - Foreign Ministry

MEXICO CITY (Sputnik) - Portugal is against an EU entry ban for Russian tourists, but will still participate in the discussion on the issue on August 31, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the ECO (Economia Online) publication.

"Portugal believes that the main goal of the sanctions regime must be to punish the Russian war machine, and not the Russian people," a foreign ministry representative said in a statement to ECO on Friday.

"Portugal will participate in the discussion on the subject that may eventually take place, at the European level, on the subject, contributing to the development of a common stance among EU member states."

Some EU countries, including the Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Romania, Poland and the Netherlands, have limited the issuance of Schengen visas to Russian citizens.

Calls have been mounting for the European Commission to ban Russian tourists from entering the EU’s borderless area in response to the Russian special operation in Ukraine. France and Germany have so far refused to back Baltic and some central European states on their initiative citing the freedom of travel principle.

The issue will be on the agenda of the upcoming informal EU ministerial meeting that will take place in Prague on August 30-31.