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The European Union criticized Russia on Saturday for imposing a new set of traveling bans against 89 of its officials and politicians.
The list was issued by Moscow Thursday as a response to sanctions and travel bans issued by the EU and the United States since the Ukrainian crisis broke out in March last year. The list also includes U.S. officials and politicians.
“It was done in answer to the sanctions campaign which has been waged in relation to Russia by several states of the European Union headed by Germany,” explained an unnamed Russian official quoted by TASS news agency.
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However, the EU considered the sanctions unjustified and demanded an explanation from Moscow.
“We consider this measure as totally arbitrary and unjustified, especially in the absence of any further clarification and transparency,” an EU spokeswoman told reporters.
The list includes Uwe Corsepius, current secretary general of the European Union council in Brussels, Britain's former deputy prime minister Nick Clegg and former Belgian premier Guy Verhofstadt.
The list also includes a number of intelligence officials and former European parliamentarians.
In March 2015, the EU voted to maintain sanctions against Russia until the end of the year. Brussels insists Russia has direct influence over the rebels fighting in east Ukraine and sustains that the Ukrainian conflict will only be solved with Moscow’s will.
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