MOSCOW (Sputnik) — On Tuesday, the European Parliament restricted free access to the parliament to the Russian delegation, except for Russia's Envoy to the European Union Vladimir Chizhov and another diplomat. The move was made in retaliation for Moscow’s list of 89 EU citizens banned from entering Russia.
"It seems like a misguided decision, that was unilaterally taken by the president of Parliament, since, as we understood, it had not been discussed at the Conference of Presidents," Couso said Wednesday.
According to the member of the European Parliament, this decision "does not help to alleviate tensions with Russia, and if we [the European Union] are entering a war of blacklists and sanctions, we will never end this confrontation."
However, Couso added that he was not surprised by the measure.
"This is a policy pursued by both the Commission and Parliament, that makes room to Polish and Latvian extreme right, who continue to escalate confrontation with Russia," the lawmaker pointed out.
Brussels and Washington have imposed sanctions against several sectors of the Russian economy and certain high-profile officials, including travel bans, citing Moscow’s alleged involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.
The Kremlin has consistently denied involvement in Ukraine's internal affairs.
