Russia has banned 287 British parliamentarians from entering the country in retaliation for sanctions imposed by the United Kingdom on 386 Russian lawmakers in March, according to a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.
The Ministry announced that the 287 members of the House of Commons from both parties will face “personal limitations,” claiming that the chosen MPs “played the most active part” in punishing 386 members of Russia’s lower house of parliament, the Duma.
The Ministry added that the lawmakers contributed “to the groundless whipping up of Russophobic hysteria in the UK.”
Those sanctioned include Downing Street Chief of Staff Steve Barclay, Speaker of the House of Commons Lindsay Hoyle, Brexit minister Jacob Rees-Mogg and other lawmakers from both the Conservative and Labour parties.
“The hostile rhetoric and far-fetched accusations coming from the mouths of British parliamentarians not only condone the hostile course of London, aimed at demonizing our country and its international isolation, but are also used by opponents of mutually respectful dialogue with Russia to undermine the foundation of bilateral cooperation,” the statement read.
Boris Johnson, who was sanctioned alongside other British legislators earlier last month, said parliament on Wednesday that sanctioned politicians should “regard it as a badge of honor.”
