MOSCOW, 1 May, 2021 (TON): On Friday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that as an act of retaliation, eight officials from the European Union (EU)'s bodies and member countries are banned from entering Russia. 

The sanctioned figures include President of the European Parliament David Sassoli, European Commission Vice President for Values and Transparency Vera Jourova, chairman of Latvia's national electronic media council Ivars Abolins, director of the Latvian state language center Maris Baltins, member of the French delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe Jacques Maire, Berlin's chief prosecutor Jorg Raupach, head of the CBRN protection and security division at the Swedish Defense Research Agency Asa Scott, and head of Estonia's language department Ilmar Tomusk.

The ministry said, "This practice (of sanctions) runs counter to the UN Charter and the fundamental norms of international law."

"All our proposals to resolve any problematic issues between Russia and the EU through direct professional dialogue are consistently ignored or rejected," it added.

However, Moscow’s black list appeared in response to the European Council's entry ban on six Russian officials on 2 and 22 March.