Russia expands entry ban list in retaliation to European Union sanctions

Moscow: Russia has significantly expanded its entry ban list mainly targetting European officials, in response to the European Union’s recent 17th and 18th package of sanctions against the country, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The Council of the European Union approved the 17th and 18th packages of sanctions on Russia on May 20 and July 18, respectively, over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

“In response to these unfriendly actions, Russia has significantly expanded the list of officials from European institutions, EU member states and a number of European countries that follow Brussels’ anti-Russian policy, who are banned from entering Russia based on the Federal Law 114-FZ ‘On the Procedure of Exiting and Entering the Russian Federation’ from August 15, 1996,” read the statement.

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, those include citizens of EU member states and some other Western countries, who work for security and government agencies and commercial organisations and are responsible for providing military aid to Kyiv, participate in the delivery of dual-use products to Ukraine, engage in efforts aimed at undermining the territorial integrity of our country and block the movement of Russian vessels and cargoes in the Baltic Sea.

It further specified that the blacklist also includes officials in EU institutions and the government agencies of EU countries and other European nations who are involved in the persecution of Russian officials for the alleged “illegal arrests” and removal of people from Ukrainian territories. (IANS)

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