MOSCOW - Greece's Embassy to Russia can ensure the issuance of Schengen visas to everyone who wants to visit the country, Greek Ambassador to Russia Ekaterini Nassika said.
"The responsibility for issuing visas to visit our country rests entirely with our Consulate General. Let me assure you that its employees are very experienced people and they are ready for anything.
“So we can ensure the issuance of Schengen visas to everyone who wants to visit our country," Nassika said on Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theocharis earlier said in an interview with Sputnik that the country was waiting for Russian tourists from May 14, and if the Covid-19 situation was positive, then at the beginning of May.
He also said that vaccination was not compulsory for tourists, but would save them from a number of formalities, while Athens recognised the Russian Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine on a par with the European ones.
In the meantime, Ireland's Minister for Justice Helen McEntee has extended the ban on visa-free travel to Ireland from South Africa due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the past, South African travellers were able to visit Ireland without a visa to enjoy attractions like The Cliffs of Moher and Kylemore Abbey.
However, Ireland implemented a ban on visa travel to South Africa as well as countries like Brazil, Peru, Ecuador and Chile, to name but a few, earlier this year due to the new Covid-19 strain.