FM and PM banned from Russia as Kremlin blacklists opponents
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon voiced her ongoing support for Ukraine yesterday after she was included on a list of British politicians banned from Russia in retaliation for sanctions.
Prime Minster Boris Johnson and other cabinet ministers including Foreign
Secretary Liz Truss and Defence Secretary Ben Wallace are also on the Kremlin blacklist.
Russia’s foreign ministry said in a statement the move was due to unprecedented hostile actions of the British government, adding: “The Russophobic course of action of the British authorities, whose main goal is to stir up negative attitude toward our country, curtailing of bilateral ties in almost all areas, are detrimental to the wellbeing and interests of the residents of Britain. Any sanctions attack will inevitably backfire on their initiators and receive a decisive rebuff.”
Russia’s foreign ministry claimed British leaders had been aggravating the situation around Ukraine by providing weapons.
Sturgeon retweeted the blacklist yesterday, and added: “I stand with Ukraine.”
Russia has already banned US President Joe Biden and a string of other US officials from the country. Also put on the Kremlin’s US blacklist were Antony Blinken, the secretary of state, CIA chief William Burns, Lloyd Austin, the defence secretary, and Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, along with Hillary Clinton.
In response to the move, White House press secretary Jen Psaki said: “It won’t surprise any of you that none of us are planning tourist trips to Russia, none of us have bank accounts that we won’t be able to access, so we will forge ahead.”