MOSCOW, March 15 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Russia’s foreign ministry said it would bar entry to over 200 US nationals it claims are involved in “anti-Russian activity”.
The announcement came a day before the start of Russian presidential elections that are all but guaranteed to hand Vladimir Putin another six-year term in the Kremlin.
“Entry to the Russian Federation is closed to 227 Americans involved in the development, implementation and justification of the Russophobic course of the current US administration,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement published on its website.
The new sanctions targeted some government officials, including US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
Several journalists — including from the Washington Post and the New York Times, as well as the founder of the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project — were also named on the list.
As were many university professors, including some teaching at Harvard, Yale and Columbia.
Moscow has banned more than 2,000 Americans from entering Russia in what it says is a response to a barrage of US sanctions against Russian individuals and companies.
The West has hit Russia with an unprecedented package of sanctions in response to its full-scale military offensive in Ukraine.
Russia’s foreign ministry has also warned against any “attempts to interfere in the internal affairs of the Russian Federation” during this weekend’s election, in which Putin faces no genuine opposition.
Meanwhile, President Vladimir Putin called on Russians to vote in upcoming presidential elections to show their patriotism.
“I am asking you to come vote and express your patriotic and civic duty… for the future of our beloved Russia,” he said in a video address aired on Russian state television. “To participate in elections today is to show your patriotic sentiments”.
“We need to confirm our consolidation, our determination to go forward together. Each vote counts. That is why I am calling on you to realize your right to vote in the coming three days,” Putin said in a video address ahead of the voting.
“Dear friends! All of us, the multiethnic people of Russia, are a big family. We are worried about our country, take care of it, we want it to be wealthy, strong, free and prosperous, we want living standards and the quality of life to improve. So be it,” he stressed.
“We will do everything the way we want. So, I an asking you to take part in the voting and express you civil and patriotic position, cast your vote for your candidate, a candidate you have chosen, for the successful future of our beloved Russia,” he added.
“Only you, Russian citizens, can decide about the future of the homeland,” he said. “I would like to stress that the only source of power in our country is the people. This is the key legal provision enshrined in the Russian constitution.”
He noted that people “will not only cast their votes but will declare their will and endeavors, their personal involvement in Russia’s further development because the election is a step to the future.”
Russia holds a presidential vote on March 15-17 that is all but certain to hand Putin, who has ruled the country since the turn of the century, another six-year term. — NNN-AGENCIES
