Moscow blacklists 213 Tory and 74 Labour MPs in retaliation for London s sanctions.
Russia has imposed sanctions against 287 British Parliament members, in a retaliation for the blacklisting of Russian lawmakers by London last month. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Moscow announced a full list of Conservative and Labour MPs banned from Russia, saying that they were the most active spreaders of rassophobic hysteria in the UK.
On March 11, the UK sanctioned 386 deputies of the Russian State Duma for their decision to vote in favor of recognition of Donetsk and Lugansk as independent states. Citing the principle of reciprocity, Moscow announced the blacklisting of some members of the House of Commons.
The 213 MPs of the ruling Conservative party and 74 MPs of the opposition Labour party took the most active part in the establishment of anti-Russian sanctions instruments in London and contributed to the groundless whipping up of Russophobic hysteria in the UK, the Russian Foreign Ministry said. The House of Commons has a total of 650 MPs.
The ministry said that it will continue to work on developing retaliatory countermeasures due to London's ongoing activity to expand anti-Russia sanctions, because of the hostility of London and isolating it internationally.
On April 16, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson was sanctioned, two days after Russia retaliated against US and Canadian lawmakers who followed London's example. The UK has been ahead of its allies in calling for Russia to impose its international isolation over the conflict in Ukraine.
Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February, after Ukraine failed to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French Minsk Protocol was designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.
The Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists that the Russian offensive was unprovoked and has denied it plans to retake the two republics by force.