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26Apr15

Germany invalidates Night Wolves motorcyclists' visas - media

Germany has invalidated the visas issued for some of the members of the Night Wolves biker club and threatens to bar them from entering the country, the Die Welt online newspaper said on Saturday.

"Leaders of the Night Wolves biker club are denied entry to Germany," the newspaper cites a source at the German government adding that the authorities had revoked visas as "incorrect data had been submitted in the applications."

Earlier in the day, Germany's Foreign and Interior Ministries issued a joint statement pointing to a "potential danger for the public order and security in Germany" linked to the ride of the Night Wolves motorcyclists.

"We reserve the right to take all the necessary steps for counteracting it," the ministries said. "This includes a possibility to deny entry to the foreigners and introduce special police measures in the Federal Republic of Germany."

The Night Wolves biker club had planned to begin their journey on April 25 in Moscow and to finish it in Berlin on May 9 marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany by riding through Minsk, Wroclaw, Brno, Bratislava, Vienna, Munich and Prague.

However, the Polish Foreign Ministry said that Warsaw had failed to obtain "the required information fully," assuring reporters that the decision was not politically motivated.

"We think we have done everything in time," said Valeria Perzhinskaya, the spokeswoman for the Russian embassy to Poland. "We disagree with the Polish authorities' decision and view it in the context of negative environment surrounding this visit to Poland. It is not going to have a favourable impact on development of the Russian-Polish relationship."

Slovakia's Foreign Ministry said that they had no objections against the motorcyclists' ride if "the club members have visas, they are law-abiding citizens and their names are not on the sanctions list.".

[Source: Itar Tass, Berlin, 26Apr15]
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