Moscow Expands List Of UK Officials Banned From Russia
Moscow on Wednesday expanded a list of UK officials
banned from entering Russia in a tit-for-tat response to British sanctions
imposed over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
The Russian foreign ministry said in a statement
that in response to "unconstructive and unfriendly" UK penalties it
had "decided to expand the number of British citizens who are denied entry
to our country."
In October the British government announced it would
follow the European Union in adopting sanctions targeting Russian officials
over the attack on Navalny with the Novichok nerve agent.
The UK penalties included entry bans and asset
freezes on six Russian officials, including the head of the Federal Security
Services (FSB).
Moscow earlier this month hit EU countries with
reciprocal sanctions in response to the bloc's measures.
The EU sanctions for Navalny's poisoning came as
part of a package that also punished Russia for what Brussels says is Moscow's
destabilising role in Libya.
Navalny was poisoned in August during a trip to
Siberia ahead of local elections. He was transferred to Germany and medical
experts from several Western countries concluded he was poisoned with the
Soviet-designed toxin.
Russia on Tuesday also hit German officials with
entry bans after the EU and UK sanctioned several Russian intelligence officers
for hacks on the German parliament's computer network in 2015.
