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Estonia to block temporary visas of Russian students
Estonia said Thursday it would block Russian nationals from obtaining temporary residence permits or visas to study in Estonia, the Anews reported, citing the AFP.
Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said in a statement: "The continuation of sanctions against Russia is essential to ensuring relentless pressure on the country."
"If the sanctions help in stopping Russian aggression, a positive effect on our own security will ensue," he said.
Estonia also said short-term employment of Russian and Belarusian citizens with a legal residence permit issued by another EU member state would no longer be allowed.
Reinsalu said this additional measure was aimed at ensuring that Russian and Belarusian citizens cannot bypass sanctions by obtaining a short-term visa for another country.
Kremlin ally Belarus has facilitated Russia's invasion of Ukraine by allowing Russian troops to attack from its territory.
The land of what is now modern Estonia has been inhabited by humans since at least 9,000 BC. The medieval indigenous population of Estonia was one of the last "pagan" civilisations in Europe to adopt Christianity following the Papal-sanctioned Livonian Crusade in the 13th century.
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After centuries of successive rule by the Teutonic Order, Denmark, Sweden, and the Russian Empire, a distinct Estonian national identity began to emerge in the mid-19th century.
This culminated in the 24 February 1918 Estonian Declaration of Independence from the then warring Russian and German Empires.
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