European Union expresses anger over recently revealed Russian travel blacklist
Eighty-nine European military leaders and politicians have been included in the Russian travel blacklist, and it's a move that is sparking a lot of anger among the members of the European Union.
The ban list itself was handed over to a delegation of the European Union present in Moscow recently. The list came directly from the Russian Foreign Ministry, and it includes the names of well-known critics of Russia together with several military leaders, according to Reuters. Russia finally shared the list, but only after multiple requests have been made by diplomats for the European Union.
Some of the names on the list are said to include EU Council Secretary Uwe Corsepius and former British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, according to BBC. Other names found on the list include Bruno Le Roux, leader of the Socialists in the French Parliament and former Belgian Premier Guy Verhofstadt.
The European Union has not taken kindly to the names included on the list. According to a spokesperson for the European Union, the blacklist itself is both "totally arbitrary and unjustified."
For their part, Russia has declined to comment on the names which are supposedly included in the list, according to CNN.
Another travel blacklist, one containing the names of different U.S. citizens, was also made.
News of the blacklist is not going well over Europe, and it is adding even more tension to what is already a very difficult situation involving both the European Union and Russia.
Tensions between the two began to rise signficantly after Russia's decision to prominently involve itself in the conflict surrounding Ukraine. Problems began to surface even more after the European Union's decision to impose sanctions upon Russia after the latter's decision to annex Crimea.
The sanctions reportedly cost Russia $26.7 billion in 2014, and the figure could rise to $80 billion for this year.
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