The head of Russian diplomacy announced on Monday March 28 that a decree was in preparation to limit access to Russian territory to nationals of countries that have committed “unfriendly” acts, in the midst of a wave of sanctions against Moscow since its offensive in Ukraine.
“A draft presidential decree is being prepared to introduce retaliatory measures, regarding visas, in connection with the unfriendly actions of several foreign governments,” Sergei Lavrov told a meeting of the ruling United Russia party.
The diplomat added that this draft envisaged “a whole series of restrictions” to enter Russia, but without specifying which countries and which types of people would be sanctioned in particular.
Faced with Western economic sanctions, Moscow published a list of “unfriendly” countries in early March, which includes the United States, members of the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Taiwan, South Korea, Norway and Australia.
Sergei Lavrov did not specify whether the decree in preparation would apply against these same countries.