The European Parliament has endorsed a decision not to accept passports and other travel documents issued by Russia in illegally-occupied regions of Ukraine and Georgia.

The European Parliament approved the agreement with the Council of the EU on the non-acceptance of travel documents issued by Russia in the occupied regions of Ukraine and Georgia, the press service of the parliament reports.

531 MPs voted in favour, 7 against, and 34 abstentions.

"According to the proposal, the Commission should consult EU member states and draw up a list of Russian travel documents, notably passports, which should not be accepted. However, those fleeing the conflict in Ukraine will still be able to enter the EU on humanitarian grounds," reads the statement of the European Parliament.

"The European Parliament is committed to doing its utmost to continue exerting pressure on Russia through legal and political means to make sure Putin pays a high price for this illegal war and for the international crimes committed against Ukraine and its people," commented rapporteur Juan Fernando López Aguilar after the vote.

Once the decision has also been officially adopted by the Council and published in the Official Journal of the EU, it will enter into force on the day after its publication.

Russia has been issuing passports to residents of Crimea since the illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2014 and is now doing so in other areas of Ukraine not controlled by the Ukrainian government.

The non-acceptance of these Russian passports would apply when someone requests a visa to enter the EU or when they cross the EU’s external borders.

The Czech Presidency of the Council of the EU and the European Parliament have reached a preliminary agreement on the decision on the non-recognition of passports issued by Russia in the occupied territories of Ukraine and Georgia in mid-November.