Russia has imposed an entry ban on President of the European Parliament, David Sassoli, Berlin chief prosecutor Jorg Raupach, and six other citizens of EU nations, Russia's foreign ministry said Friday, April 30.
The measure is said to be have been taken in response to the European Council's sanctions against six Russian nationals, imposed on March 2 and March 22, the foreign ministry reported.
Read alsoNew EP resolution proposes switching off SWIFT for Russia if Kremlin invades UkraineRussia has also blacklisted chairman of Latvia's E-media Council Ivars Abolins; chief of Latvia's State Language Center Maris Baltins; member of the French delegation to PACE Jacques Maire; chief of the Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Protection and Security Division at the Swedish Defense Research Agency Asa Scott; Director General of Estonia's Language Inspectorate Ilmar Tomusk; and Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova.
Russia's diplomacy claims Brussels "is ignoring Moscow's proposals to resolve the existing issues through dialogue," continuing the policy of "illegitimate unilateral sanctions against Russian citizens and organizations."
"It is accompanied by anti-Russian hysteria, deliberately spread by the Western media," the statement says, adding that there is allegedly "no substantiating evidence."
"All our proposals to resolve any problems arising between Russia and the EU by holding a direct professional dialogue are steadily ignored or rejected," the statement reads.
EU sanctions of March 2, 22
On March 2, restrictive measures were introduced against Alexander Kalashnikov, director of the Federal Penitentiary Service; Chairman of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov, and Director of the National Guard Viktor Zolotov. Restrictive measures are due to serious violations of human rights in Russia.
On March 22, the Council of the European Union imposed sanctions against 11 individuals and four organizations in Russia, China and several other countries for their involvement in gross violations of human rights.
In Russia, sanctions targeted two officials responsible for the persecution of sexual minorities in Chechnya: head of the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the city of Argun, Ayub Kataev; and the commander of the Terek unit, Abuzaid Vismuradov.
