The Russian Foreign Ministry urges Russian citizens travelling abroad to choose their travel destinations carefully and recommends choosing Turkey, Serbia or Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) for safe travels to the Balkans. Yuri Pilipson, Director of the Fourth European Department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, said about this in an interview with TASS.
He stressed that most of the Balkan countries are included by the Russian government in the list of unfriendly countries. And in this regard, according to the diplomat, "the choice of a destination for a trip should be done soberly and carefully". "We do not see contraindications for visiting the countries of the region that are not on the list - Turkey, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina. Of course, a certain amount of caution would not hurt either," the diplomat said when asked for recommendation for Russians going to the Balkans during the tourist season.
Pilipson recalled that the authorities of countries unfriendly towards Russians "in line with corporate Western approaches on the basis of the Ukrainian events" imposed sanctions against Moscow and launched a propaganda campaign against it. As a result, "manifestations of Russophobia, discrimination and aggression against Russians are not uncommon on their territory". "Direct flights have been closed to Russia. It has become more difficult for our diplomats to provide consular assistance to fellow citizens: staff of embassies and consulates general has sharply decreased due to a series of unjustified expulsions, while local authorities often avoid contacts and put up obstacles, " he explained.
The Director of the Fourth European Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs also advised everyone who is going to travel "to read the information intended for tourists and consider useful tips on the websites of the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Situation and Crisis Centre Department, the consular information portal, Rosturism" and Russian missions abroad. "It is worth downloading and activating the Foreign Assistant mobile application of the Russian Foreign Ministry and writing down the addresses and contact numbers of Russian missions abroad," Pilipson added. - The more thoroughly travelers think through their itinerary and take into account all the circumstance, the more likely it is that their holiday abroad will be enjoyable".
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Photo: Akishin Vyacheslav/Creative Commons 2.0
Based on materials from TASS