Local media quoted a source in the ministry as saying that the list that includes European politicians, diplomats and military experts was sent to the embassies of EU member states, while refusing to give the specific names that were on the list.
According to media reports, the list comprises 89 EU citizens, 18 of whom have Polish citizenship.
Some European countries demanded Moscow to explain why these persons were included in the list, RIA Novosti news agency quoted the source as saying.
"(The answer) is simple: it was done in response to a sanctions campaign unleashed against Russia by some EU member states, led by Germany," the source said.
He added that there is a similar list consisting of the U.S. citizens, but Washington did not ask to make it public.
The spokesperson of the EU Foreign Affairs chief Federica Mogherini later in the day confirmed the 89-name blacklist in an online official statement.
"We consider this measure as totally arbitrary and unjustified, especially in the absence of any further clarification and transparency," the statement said.
According to the statement, several EU politicians have been refused entry into Russia in the past few months, but Russian authorities didn't provide information "on legal basis", or " criteria and process of this decision."
Certain Russian individuals have been denied entry to some Western countries as part of sanction regime imposed against Moscow over its alleged interference in the Ukraine crisis, which Russia kept denying.
Xinhua - china.org.cn
21/5/15
--
-
Related:
European External Action Service: Statement by the Spokesperson on the Russian "stop list"
Germany's foreign minister said Saturday that a Russian travel ban on 89 top European Union officials could damage peace efforts in Ukraine....
----
---Related 2014:
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov needs to explain why 89 European politicians have been banned from entering Russia and confirm their names, an opposition lawmaker said Sunday in a formal inquiry...
ReplyDeleteDmitry Gudkov, the sole member of Russia's parliament who opposes the Kremlin, also told Lavrov that while he understood such a step might have been necessary, it should have been taken transparently and in consultation with parliament.
Russia has shared the list with European Union officials, but has refused to release it. A leaked list published by the Finnish public broadcasting company Yle includes politicians from 17 EU countries, but no explanation for the bans.
The 28-nation EU on Saturday criticized the Russian bans as "totally arbitrary and unjustified, especially in the absence of any further clarification and transparency."....http://www.voanews.com/content/ap-russian-lawmaker-asks-for-eu-blacklist-to-be-made-public/2802040.html
31/5/15