Russia has said it has put US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and other senior officials on a “no-go list” from entering its territory.
They are listed, along with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA chief William Burns, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and others, Reuters reported.
She explained that the “banned list” includes 13 individuals who were banned from entering Russia in response to the sanctions imposed by Washington on Russian officials.
The sanctions also included former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
But the Russian Foreign Ministry said it maintains official relations with Washington and, if necessary, will ensure the possibility of high-level contacts with those listed.
In late February, the US Treasury Department said that the United States had imposed sanctions on Russian President Vladimir Putin, his Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov, because of Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.
In parallel, the United States, along with its allies in the West, imposed sanctions on wealthy Russians who are said to be close to Putin.
Washington has repeatedly stressed that it will not intervene directly militarily in Ukraine, because this will lead to a widening of the confrontation and may be a spark for a third world war.
The United States vowed to move forward with imposing severe and “painful” sanctions on Russia, and vowed every country that helps Moscow to meet the same fate.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the United States imposed new sanctions on Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko, while Washington is heading to punish countries that supported Russia’s military action.
The US Treasury described Lukashenko as “the head of a corrupt government in Belarus whose patronage network benefits his inner circle and regime.” Washington also imposed sanctions on his wife.
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