Moscow to Scrap EU Blacklist Once Brussels Lifts Sanctions Against Russians

Moscow’s list barring 89 EU nationals from entering the country will be canceled as soon as EU sanctions against Russian individuals are quashed, Russian Envoy to the EU Vladimir Chizhov said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — In an interview with Rossiya-1 TV channel, Vladimir Chizhov said:

"Once EU [black] list is canceled, ours will be abolished."

On Saturday, a Russian Foreign Ministry source confirmed that EU member states' diplomatic missions had received a list of 89 politicians, diplomats and military experts barred from entering Russia.

On Tuesday, the European Parliament said in a press release on its website that it had restricted free access to the parliament’s building to the Russian ambassador, as well as one other diplomat, as a retaliatory measure for Moscow’s travel ban.

The parliament also suspended its interaction with the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and stated it would only grant access to Russian lawmakers to European Parliament facilities on a case-by-case basis.

On Wednesday, Chizhov said the European Parliament had not limited access to its building for Russia’s envoy, as was earlier reported.

Russia’s move comes in response to the European Union’s sanctions campaign that includes travel bans on a number of Russian individuals, as part of broader sanctions over Moscow's alleged interference in the Ukrainian conflict.