UN Chief Says Visa Restrictions Against Russians in Europe is Not Good Idea

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed the hope that issues pertaining to the European Union's decision to suspend the processing of visas for Russian citizens will soon be resolved, as such restrictions are not a good idea.

"I think that the relations between the European Union and the Russian Federation have deteriorated in many aspects with the war in Ukraine, and obviously, I hope that with the end of the war, all these situations will disappear ... it is probably not a good idea not to allow them [Russian citizens] to move," Guterres said, commenting on the EU suspending its visa facilitation agreement with Moscow.

He also referred to the visa troubles that Russian diplomats face when they attempt to visit UN headquarters in New York, noting that using arbitrage to strong arm the United States into granting visas quicker could make matters worse.

"We have been clear that visas must be granted to delegations of all countries, I seriously doubt that arbitrage would lead to a positive result," Guterres said, adding that "it would not change, probably to even get worse the attitude of the host country because even the arbitrage would not be able to have any compulsive measure."

THe UN head also noted that he does not think it is a realistic idea to relocate UN headquarters outside of the United States.

Earlier in September, the European Union adopted a proposal to fully suspend its visa facilitation agreement with Moscow, which resulted in a higher fee and extended issuance procedure. Moscow warned that the country will retaliate for restricting the travel of Russian citizens.