Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto says the European Union will suspend an accord with Russia on easier visa issuance for tourists, but avoid the outright ban some of the bloc's members have been pushing for at a meeting in Prague.
"There won't be a general blanket visa ban imposed for Russian citizens...Several member states have raised their voice against this, including myself," Szijjarto wrote in a post on Facebook on August 31.
He added that the visa issuance agreement will be suspended with a qualified majority of the bloc's 27 members, though he did not say whether Hungary would be one of them.
There was no immediate confirmation from the EU as the meeting continues in the Czech capital.
The matter of limiting visas to Russians has gained steam among some EU countries in recent days but an agreement must be reached by all 27 members of the bloc in order for it to become the latest sanction against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.
EU countries that share borders with Russia -- the Baltic states, Poland, and Finland -- have led the drive for more restrictive bans on visas for Russian tourists.
With air service barred by the EU on flights from Russia, most travelers are using their land borders to travel on to other EU countries.
