Moscow expands list of EU representatives banned from entering Russia
The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry has released a new list of individuals from EU member states who are now banned from entering Russia. This comes in response to recent EU sanctions over the poisoning of opposition figure Alexey Navalny. Russia’s Foreign Ministry announced the blacklist on its website on Tuesday, Decemeber 22.
The Russian side, acting on the basis of reciprocity, has decided to expand the list of representatives of EU Member States and institutions who will be denied entry to the Russian Federation. Among them are those who are responsible for promoting anti-Russian sanctions initiatives within the framework of the European Union.
Earlier in the day today, the German, French, and Swedish ambassadors to Russia were summoned to the foreign ministry, where they were notified of these new measures.
The Russian Foreign Ministry did not specify the number of people included on the list, or give their names.
The European Union imposed sanctions in response to Navalny’s poisoning in October, banning six high-level Russian officials from the Presidential Executive Office and security agencies from entering the EU. Brussels attributed the sanctions to Moscow’s unwillingness to launch an investigation into the attempt on Navalny’s life.
The EU sanctions were initiated by France and Germany. A laboratory in Sweden was responsible for independently verifying the conclusions of the German military specialists, who confirmed that Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok-type nerve agent.
Read more about the sanctions
Navalny’s poisoning
Alexey Navalny was on a flight from Tomsk to Moscow when he fell violently ill on August 20. The plane made an emergency landing in Omsk, where he was hospitalized in a coma; two days later he was transferred to Germany for treatment. On September 2, German officials confirmed that Navalny was poisoned with a substance from the Novichok group of nerve agents. Navalny was discharged from the hospital on September 23. Russia denies any involvement in the poisoning.