Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday that it was again urging its citizens to avoid unnecessary travel to Russia after a surge in reports of increased security checks at the border and denials of entry to Central Asians.
“The ministry once again recommends that fellow citizens who don’t have good reasons to go to Russia temporarily refrain from traveling to its territory until the previously introduced additional security measures and enhanced border control regime are lifted,” the Kyrgyz ministry said.
“If necessary, check in advance for restrictions of entry into Russia,” it said in a statement.
Bishkek previously urged Kyrgyz citizens to avoid traveling to Russia to avoid heightened entry and exit checks in the wake of the deadly March 22 attack on a concert hall outside Moscow.
Migrant rights activists have said Central Asian nationals have complained of harassment, aggression, and unlawful detention after the Crocus City Hall attack, which left 145 people dead and hundreds more wounded.
Tajikistan’s Foreign Ministry said last week that it had invited Russia’s ambassador in Dushanbe to express concerns about an uptick in denials of entry to its citizens traveling to Russia.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry had said increased security checks at the border were temporary and not targeted at any one nationality.
Kyrgyzstan’s Foreign Ministry said Thursday it had not received complaints of mass denials of entry to its citizens traveling to Russia, but it urged them to contact the Kyrgyz Embassy in Moscow in cases of “unforeseen circumstances.”