Russia imposes sanctions on Biden & several US officials
Russia said on Tuesday it had put US President, Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA Director William Burns, National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki and a host of other US officials on the list of people banned from entering Russia.
The move, which came in response to sanctions imposed by the US on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, appeared largely symbolic, as the Russian Foreign Ministry said it maintains official relations and will ensure that high-level contacts can be established with the people on the list if necessary.
Russia announced on Tuesday a list of 13 individuals banned from entering Russia, in response to the sanctions imposed by the US on Russian officials.
The sanctions, announced by the Russian Foreign Ministry, also included former US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that this “measure” is the inevitable result of the anti-Russian extremist trend adopted by the current US administration.
The announcement came minutes after a statement was published on the website of the US Treasury Department stating that the US imposed new sanctions related to Russia and Belarus on Tuesday, which included a Russian judge and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko.
In this context, Blinken said, “The State Department imposes visa restrictions and sanctions on Russian and Belarusian officials and individuals implicated in human rights abuses.”
Blinken renewed, on his Twitter account, Washington’s condemnation of the military operation that Russia launched in Ukraine late last month, stressing that his country will continue to seek accountability for those responsible.
Recently, Russia announced the imposition of sanctions on Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the ministers of defense and foreign affairs.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that “Moscow has imposed economic sanctions on Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau and two of his ministers: the ministers of foreign affairs and defense.”
The Russian sanctions list included more than 300 Canadian parliamentarians who joined the blacklist.
The State Department said the imposition of Russian sanctions against Canadian leaders and people connected to them was “in response to an unprecedented series of attacks against Russians”.
