INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russia has banned Prime Minister Boris Johnson and other senior ministers from entering Russia over the UK’s “hostile” stance on the
war in Ukraine.Foreign Secretary Liz Truss, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and 10 other senior politicians - mostly members of the Cabinet -
have also been barred.Moscow said the decision had been made in retaliation to the UK’s sanctions against it since it invaded Ukraine.In
March, Moscow imposed a similar ban against US President Joe Biden.The full list is:• Prime Minister Boris Johnson
• Foreign
Secretary Liz Truss
• Defence Secretary Ben Wallace
• Deputy Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor, and Secretary of State for
Justice Dominic Raab
• Secretary of State for Transport Grant Shapps
• Home Secretary Priti Patel
• The Chancellor
Rishi Sunak
• Minister for Entrepreneurship, Energy and Industrial Strategy Kwasi Kwarteng
• Minister for Digital, Culture,
Media and Sport Nadine Dorries
• Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey
• First Minister of Scotland Nicola
Sturgeon
• Attorney General for England and Wales and advocate general for Northern Ireland Suella Braverman
• Conservative MP
and former British Prime Minister Theresa MayIn a statement, Russia’s foreign ministry said: “London’s unbridled information and
political campaign aimed at isolating Russia internationally, creating conditions for containing our country and strangling the domestic
economy” were responsible for its decision.It added: “In essence, the British leadership is deliberately aggravating the situation
around Ukraine, pumping the Kyiv regime with lethal weapons and coordinating similar efforts on the part of Nato.”In response to the
sanctions, a UK government spokesperson said: “The UK and our international partners stand united in condemning the Russian government’s
reprehensible actions in Ukraine and calling for the Kremlin to stop the war.“We remain resolute in our support for Ukraine.”Earlier
this week, the UK and US governments announced further sanctions on Russia.The sanctions included financial measures designed to damage
Russia’s economy and penalise Russian President Vladimir Putin, high-ranking officials, and people who have benefited from his regime.Nato
countries - including the UK and US - are also supplying weapons, ammunition and other military equipment to Ukraine, although they have
ruled out sending in Nato troops or implementing a no-fly zone.On Wednesday, the US said that more sophisticated offensive weaponry would be
sent to Ukraine as part of a $800m (£612m) package.In response, Moscow on Friday warned the US that there would be “unpredictable
consequences” if it refused to stop sending weapons to Ukraine.
Source: BBC
-Agencies
This article first appeared/also appeared in https://adaderana.lk
