Russia announced on Friday that it would ban entry into its territory of 200 Americans, including two brothers and a sister of President Joe Biden, as well as his spokesperson Karine Jean-Pierre, in response to American sanctions targeting Moscow.
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This decision was taken “in response to the increasingly broad sanctions of the administration of Joe Biden, not only against Russian officials (…), but also of all those who do not please Washington for one reason or another,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
Among those banned from entering Russia are James Brian Biden and Francis William Biden, two brothers of the US President, and their sister Valerie Biden Owens.
Also on the list are independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who strongly criticized the Russian offensive in Ukraine launched on February 24, political figures and members of President Biden’s administration.
Moscow accuses them of being “involved in promoting a Russophobic campaign and supporting the kyiv regime”, according to the statement.
At the end of June, Russia announced that it would ban the wife and daughter of the American president from its territory, after Washington sanctioned members of the family of Vladimir Putin, in particular his two daughters, and the Russian president himself. Mr. Biden is banned from Russia.