The Russian government has banned Boris Johnson, the UK prime minister, and some members of the British cabinet from entering the country.
The Russian foreign ministry disclosed this in a statement on Saturday.
The ministry said the decision was taken owing to the “unprecedented hostile actions of the British government” against Russia in wake of the war in Ukraine.
Following the Russian troops’ invasion of Ukraine on February 24, many western countries, including UK and United States, have imposed economic and other sanctions on Russia and influential persons from the country.
In February, the UK imposed sanctions on five Russian banks and three wealthy individuals.
“Today, the UK is sanctioning the following five Russian banks: Rossiya, IS Bank, General Bank, Promsvyazbank and the Black Sea Bank, and we’re sanctioning three very high net worth individuals,” Johnson had told parliament.
In March, the UK froze the assets of Roman Abramovich, Chelsea’s owner, and six other Russian oligarchs over allegations of supporting “Putin’s vicious assault on Ukraine”.
Responding to UK’s sanctions, Russia said the main task of the British authorities is to “stir up a negative attitude towards our country, curtail bilateral ties in almost all areas”.
“In connection with the unprecedented hostile actions of the British government, expressed, in particular, in the imposition of sanctions against top officials of the Russian Federation, a decision was made to include key members of the British government and a number of political figures in the Russian “stop list,” the statement reads.
“This step was taken as a response to London’s unbridled information and political campaign aimed at isolating Russia internationally, creating conditions for containing our country and strangling the domestic economy.
“In essence, the British leadership is deliberately aggravating the situation around Ukraine, pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and coordinating similar efforts on the part of NATO.
“The instigation of London is also unacceptable, which is strongly pushing not only its Western allies but also other countries to introduce large-scale anti-Russian sanctions, which, however, are senseless and counterproductive.”
Source: Top Stories
