Estonia, Finland want Europe to end Russian tourist visas

By JAN M. OLSEN
Associated Press

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Estonia and Finland want European countries to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians amid the war in Ukraine. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas said Tuesday that “visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right.” Her Finnish counterpart, Sanna Marin, says Russians traveling in Europe is “not right.” Estonia and Finland both border Russia and are members of the European Union, which banned air travel from Russia after it invaded Ukraine. But Russians can still travel by land to both countries and then take flights elsewhere in Europe. Finnish broadcaster YLE reports that Russian companies have started offering car trips to airports in Finland, which have direct connections to several Europe destinations.