Russia sanctions Biden, Blinken, other top US officials

Russia’s foreign ministry on Tuesday said US President Joe Biden and a dozen other top officials had been banned from entering the country in a reciprocal response to US sanctions.

The measure, which also applies to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, “is the consequence of the extremely Russophobic policy pursued by the current US administration”, the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

In response to Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, the United States banned Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as well as adopting sanctions that have largely cut Russia off financially from the rest of the world.

Russia also put on its stop list Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, Central Intelligence Agency Director William Burns and White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

Also on the list are Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh, US Agency for International Development chief Samantha Power, Deputy Treasury Secretary Adewale Adeyemo, and US Export-Import Bank chief Reta Jo Lewis.

Russia also banned from entry Biden’s son Hunter and former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

The foreign ministry warned Moscow will soon announce additional sanctions against a range of “Russophobic” US officials, military officers, lawmakers, businessmen, and media personalities.

AFP