Russia slaps retaliatory sanctions on EU officials over Navalny case

Russia has imposed retaliatory sanctions against a number of European officials in response sanctions imposed by the European Union (EU) against Moscow over the case of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday that in response to "confrontational" EU actions, it had "decided to expand the list of representatives of EU member states and institutions who will be denied entry to the Russian Federation."

The tit-for-tat sanctions were announced after Moscow summoned top diplomats from three EU countries.

German, French, and Swedish representatives were called to the Russian Foreign Ministry in "connection with the introduction of EU anti-Russian sanctions," a ministry spokeswoman told said.

Last month, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow would soon announce punitive measures against senior French and German officials in retaliation for the introduction of sanctions by Berlin and Paris against Russian officials over the alleged poisoning of Navalny in August.

SS