In a statement released Thursday, September 22, Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly said she did not support the decision, believing that Russians who wanted to leave their country were facing increased danger.
“Clearly what we’re doing is working, but we need to do more,” Joly told reporters in a phone call Thursday from New York, as quoted by Radio-Canada, Friday (9/23). He spoke of the success of Western countries in helping Ukraine.
He argued that Putin’s regime was becoming increasingly desperate, which would pose risks for its dissidents. Thus, according to him, there is no need to limit visas for those wishing to leave Russia.
Joly dismissed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s demands that Western countries stop issuing visas to Russians.
“There are Russian soldiers who are basically ready to defy the authorities, who are abandoning their ranks and fleeing the battlefield in Ukraine,” Joly said.
“Many Russians want to leave Russia,” Joly added, arguing that the visa ban is unfair to people who disagree with Moscow.
The Russian embassy has condemned visa restrictions imposed by several Western countries. In this case, the embassy agrees with Canada, but within the framework of its rights as a citizen wishing to travel.
“Here we can agree with Minister Joly that the visa ban is a policy of collective punishment,” said Artem Kalabukhov, political advisor at the Russian Embassy in Ottawa.
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