Barack Obama among 500 Americans banned from Russia in tit-for-tat for US sanctions

Russia, May 20 :  Russia’s foreign ministry on Friday said that former US President Barack Obama was among 500 US citizens who would be banned in response to the latest round of sanctions announced by Washington, reported news agency Reuters.

Russia’s foreign ministry, in a statement, said that the move comes after US refusal last month to give visas to media traveling with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to the United Nations.

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“Washington should have learned a long time ago that not a single hostile attack on Russia will go unpunished,” the statement by Russia’s foreign ministry added.

The ministry also said that Russia had refused the latest US request for consular access to the detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in March this year on suspicion of spying.

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Earlier on Friday, the United States announced disciplinary measures against more than 300 targets, aiming to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine and intensifying one of the harshest sanctions efforts ever implemented, Reuters reported.

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“Today’s actions will further tighten the vise on [Vladimir] Putin’s ability to wage his barbaric invasion and will advance our global efforts to cut off Russian attempts to evade sanctions,” the US treasury secretary, Janet Yellen, said in a statement.

The treasury department said it imposed sanctions on 22 people and 104 entities with touchpoints in over 20 countries or jurisdictions, including companies that import, ship or manufacture electronics components, semiconductors and microelectronics to Russia, reported The Guardian.

-The India Today