Russia Ponders Blacklisting Over 200 Foreign Officials

According to media reports, more than 200 politicians and officials from the European Union and the United States have been included in a list of foreign nationals who may be banned from entering Russia.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – More than 200 politicians and officials from the European Union and the United States have been included in a list of foreign nationals who may be banned from entering Russia, local media reported Thursday.

“The list of foreign nationals who may be denied entry into the Russian Federation mirrors similar blacklists in the European Union and NATO states. The United States leads with more than 60 people on the list,” a source close to Russia’s Foreign Ministry told the Izvestia newspaper.

According to the source, the list includes House Speaker John Boehner, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, the US president’s deputy assistant Caroline Atkinson, advisers Daniel Pfeiffer and Benjamin Rhodes, as well as senators John McCain and Bob Menendez.

Russia already introduced entry bans for a number of nationals from the United States, the European Union and other countries in the spring of 2014. The move came in response to sanctions against Russian officials, introduced over Crimea’s reunification with Russia and the crisis in East Ukraine.