Russia ‘banned’ 154 British senators

A meeting of the British Senate – Photo: Moscow Times

In the announcement on May 24, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Russia said the decision was made in response to British sanctions in March 2022 targeting most members of the Russian Senate.

According to AFP news agency, British MPs blacklisted by Russia include the leader of Britain’s Conservative Party, William Hague. The British Senate has 800 members.

This is the latest development in a series of retaliations between Britain and Russia over the past time. In April 2022, Russia also announced a ban on entry to 287 British MPs who “made the most active contribution” to the drafting of sanctions on Moscow.

Russia has been subject to a series of sanctions by Britain and the European Union (EU) since launching a “special military operation” in Ukraine.

Next week, the EU is expected to continue to discuss additional sanctions with Moscow, including an embargo on its oil. It is likely that the oil issue will reach a consensus of all member countries.

In a statement on May 24, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban asked to drop the discussion of Russian oil sanctions from the EU meeting.

“It is very difficult to find a comprehensive solution before the special meeting of the European Council on May 30 and 31. I believe that the discussion of the sanctions package at the leadership level while there is no consensus. agreement will backfire,” Orban said.

European Commission (EC) President Ursula von der Leyen previously proposed that EU members stop importing Russian oil from the end of this year, while some countries like Hungary will have more time to adapt.

On May 24, Ms. von der Leyen still believed that it was possible to convince the entire EU member state in the “next few days”. In addition, she also mentioned the use of Russian assets frozen in the EU to rebuild Ukraine.