Russia imposes entry ban on European Parliament president, seven more EU nationals

MOSCOW (TASS): Russia has imposed an entry ban on President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, Berlin chief prosecutor Jorg Raupach and six more citizens of EU nations, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

The measure was taken in response to the European Council’s sanctions against six Russian nationals of March 2 and 22, 2021.

Russia’s blacklist also includes Ivars Abolins, chairman of Latvia’s National Electronic Media Council; Maris Baltins, Director of the Latvian State Language Center; Jacques Maire, a member of the French delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; Asa Scott, Head of the CBRN Protection and Security Division at the Swedish Defense Research Agency; Ilmar Tomusk, Director General of the Language Inspectorate, Estonia; Vera Jourova, Vice President of the European Commission for Values and Transparency.

The ministry pointed out that Brussels is ignoring Moscow’s proposals to resolve the existing issues through dialogue. “The EU continues the policy of illegitimate unilateral sanctions against Russian citizens and organizations. Only in March 2021, six Russians were subjected to unlawful EU restrictions. This practice contradicts the UN Charter and the basic norms of international law. It is accompanied by anti-Russian hysteria, deliberately spread by the Western media. There is 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 document reads.

Meanwhile, Washington does not attempt to hide its interest in turning the European continent into an arena for geopolitical confrontation once again, the ministry added. “Such actions of the EU leave no room for doubt that its true goal is to hinder the development of our country by any means, to impose its own one-sided concept of a world order based on rules, which undermines international law, and to blatantly challenge the independence of Russia’s foreign and domestic policy.

This is done openly and deliberately. And, of course, this is done with the knowledge and encouragement of the US, which does not hide its interest in turning Europe into an arena for acute geopolitical confrontation once again,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.