Chinese Embassy in Russia. Photo: Courtesy of Ministry of Foreign Affairs 

Russia said it welcomes the entry of Chinese to the country and does not have any discriminatory policies or actions against Chinese citizens after the Chinese Embassy in Russia lodged representations over Russian border officers' obstruction of the entry of five Chinese citizens.
The incident occurred on July 29 when five Chinese nationals trying to enter Russia by car from Kazakhstan through Karauzek port in Astrakhan Oblast were denied entry and had their tourist visas cancelled, according to a statement from the embassy on Friday.

Once upon receiving the request for assistance, the embassy provided the Chinese nationals with necessary assistance and found that they had been repeatedly interrogated by Russian border officers for as long as four hours.

Representatives from the Chinese Embassy respectively lodged representations with Russian departments including its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Federal Border Service and Federal Security Service.

The Embassy pointed out that the Russian side was seen to have "brutal" and "excessive" law enforcement conducts, which have severely damaged legitimate interests of Chinese nations and been inconsistent with the overall situation of friendly China-Russia relations and the trend of increasingly close personnel exchanges between the two countries.

The Russia side was asked by the embassy to examine the reasons behind the case and make positive moves to eliminate the bad influence and prevent similar events from happening in the future. The Russian side should fully respect and guarantee dignity and legitimate rights of Chinese nationals, the embassy said.

The Russian side said that the case was an isolated incident and the country welcomes Chinese citizens to visit Russia and holds no discriminatory policies or actions against Chinese citizens.

The initial investigation showed the five Chinese nationals were denied entry to Russia because "the destination of their visa application is not consistent with the actual destination, which is in violation of relevant Russian laws and regulations, " according to the Russian side.

The embassy is now demanding a reply from Russia over its investigation linked to the excessive law enforcement practices of Russian border officers.

In the statement, the embassy reminded Chinese nationals to contact consular officials for timely assistance should they encounter problems that compromise their dignity and legitimate rights in Russia, adding that the embassy would spare no efforts in offering help.

Global Times