Latvia halts issuing visas to Russians after Wagner mutiny

Latvia will for now not accept visa applications from Russian citizens, the country’s foreign ministry said, Delfi reports.

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Since 26 June, "due to the unpredictable development of internal political events in Russia", Latvian diplomatic and consular missions have stopped accepting all types of visa applications from Russian citizens, it said.

The foreign ministry's statement suggests that the reason therefor is the armed mutiny staged by the Wagner terrorist group last weekend.

Latvian foreign minister and president-elect Edgars Rinkēvičs said on Monday that reports of the Wagner group leader, Yevgeny Prigozhin, heading to Belarus "should be treated with extreme caution."

"This will be a direct security challenge not only for Ukraine, but also for EU member states," he told an EU foreign ministers’ meeting in Luxembourg. "In this case, it will be vital to strengthen security in the EU border area."

Late on Friday, Mr Prigozhin, who founded Wagner Group, a private military company, announced a ‘march’ on Moscow, demanding a shake-up in Russia’s military command.

The next evening, he reached an agreement with the Russian authorities and withdrew his troops, having himself agreed to move to Belarus.