State Duma Chair Sergei Naryshkin will be unable to attend an OSCE meeting in Finland after the country denied him entry. Finnish authorities made the decision because Naryshkin is included in the EU’s sanctions list.
Before coming to this last-minute final decision, the Finnish Foreign Ministry consulted with other EU states and OSCE leaders about whether an exception can be made for Russian representatives who are due to partake in the OSCE meeting. The Finnish Foreign Ministry also said that there are five additional Russia representatives who are also in the EU’s sanctions list, and they will be banned from the talks as well. The rest of the Russian delegation will be allowed entry into Finland and can attend the meeting.
“Finland will not make an exception and allow entry into the country for people (Russian citizens) who are included in the EU sanctions list, who were also included by Russia in its OSCE delegation list,” stated the Finnish Foreign Ministry.
The OSCE summer session will be held in Helsinki on July 5-9.
The EU imposed sanctions of Russia in March 2014 in response to Russia’s role in the Ukraine crisis. Sergei Naryshkin made the first EU “blacklist.” Since then, the EU has tightened sanctions against Russia several times, and the list of persons banned from entry has expanded to include various politicians, businessmen and public figures.