The explanations of the European Commission on the import ban of Russian goods into the EU are actually aimed at making it impossible for Russians to enter the Union, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Monday.
"The ban on direct flights, the tightening of visa practices, now these 'explanations' on sanctions, which are beyond the point of absurd, are aimed at harming ordinary Russians, at actually making it impossible for Russian citizens to enter the European Union," the statement read.
The European Commission's clarifications are aimed at provoking members states to increase discrimination against Russians, the ministry added.
"We consider this to be deliberate actions of the European Commission aimed at introducing legal uncertainty and openly provoking EU member states to increase discrimination against Russians on a national basis," the ministry said.
Moscow urges Russians to carefully consider risks when planning trips to unfriendly countries against the background of the European Commission's actions.
Currently there is no solution to the issue of cars already imported into the EU from Russia, and member-states must act guided by their own rules regarding the matter, European Commission spokesman Daniel Sheridan Ferrie told Ria Novosti last Thursday.
However, the Estonian Minister of the Interior, Lauri Laanemets, explained that vehicles with Russian license plates in Estonia should be confiscated or re-registered again because they are subject to European Union sanctions against Moscow.
"I cannot comment on the government's general stance. My point of view is that the sanctions must be carried out, and these cars should be confiscated, we have to come to this. I wonder why there are even cars with Russian plates in Estonia, why should anyone own them? If these cars are permanently moving here, then shouldn't they be registered in Estonia?" Laanemets said on Thursday during a government conference.
On Wednesday, after Estonia banned the entry of vehicles with Russian license plates into the country, the Russia's Federal Customs Service reported the first case of the Estonian customs officers denying the entrance to a car.
The Russian embassies in Lithuania and Latvia suggested to Russian citizens refrain from traveling to these countries in vehicles with Russian license plates, as they could be confiscated.
Apart from the new EU guidelines on the entry, this August, the Russian Presidential Council for the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights issued an appeal to the human rights commissioners of the UN, the EU and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe considering the threat of forced evictions of Russian-speaking residents in Latvia.
According to the Latvian law, all permanent residence permits issued to Russian citizens expired on September 2. In order to continue living legally in this country, Russians must apply for permanent residence status.
One of the requirements to qualify is to submit a certificate of knowledge of the national language at the A2 [basic] level in the Office of Citizenship and Migration Affairs (PMLP). Those who couldn't apply or didn't pass the test must leave the territory of Latvia by December 2.