Russia bans entry of 200 US citizens: FM

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Moscow responds to personal sanctions imposed by the United States on Russian individuals by introducing a ban on entry into Russia for 200 US citizens, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Friday.

Russia said the ban on entry was "in response to the ever-increasing personal sanctions imposed by the Joe Biden administration not only against Russian officials, representatives of the business community and the public, cultural figures, but also those who, for one reason or another, are objectionable to Washington."

On the basis of reciprocity, the Russian Foreign Ministry said, "a ban on entry into Russian Federation is imposed in respect of 200 US citizens."

The ban includes "government officials and legislators, as well as their close relatives, heads of companies and enterprises of the defense industry, experts and lobbyists involved in the promotion of the Russophobic campaign and support for the regime in Kiev."

The list particularly includes members of Biden's family, including his siblings, as well as White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

US Treasury Department announced around a month ago that Washington imposed new sanctions on individuals and groups that have allegedly aided "Russia in its war in Ukraine."

The new sanctions target 22 individuals and two entities "who advanced Moscow's objectives in Ukraine both before and after the war in Ukraine," as per the State Department.

In a statement, the US Treasury Department detailed that the new sanctions are being imposed in collaboration with the Commerce Department, which is imposing new export controls on Russia, and the State Department, which is targeting Russia's defense and high-technology industries.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine on February 24, 2022, the US and the EU have multiplied punitive measures to isolate Russia by targeting its banking system and freezing the assets of its leaders and its industries.

Many of the consequences, such as higher gas, electricity, and food prices, have already occurred or will occur. Meanwhile, western citizens are bearing the brunt of the sanctions on Russia, as gas prices are rising in a suffocating manner.

Former Virginia State Senator Richard Black, speaking to Sputnik on Thursday, said the world economy would surge if the Ukraine war was put to an end and sanctions on Russia were lifted.

"One of the things very few people think about, but if this war went away, and if the sanctions were lifted, the world economy would surge," Black said.

Meanwhile, Hungarian Prime Minister Victor Orban, mentioning how his country was part of the EU, said earlier in the day that the bloc's "very strict" sanctions on Russia over the Ukraine war "made the situation worse."

"We thought it would weaken Russia. We thought it would force them to make peace. However, these sanctions had the opposite result," he added.

The EU will become more involved in the conflict as the bloc must support Ukraine's economy in the coming days, according to Hungary's PM.