Russia announced on Friday that it would ban entry into its territory of 62 Canadians, including political and military officials, priests and journalists, in response to recent Canadian sanctions targeting Russian personalities.
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This decision was taken “in view of the particularly hostile nature of the regime of (Canadian) Prime Minister Justin Trudeau” and in response to actions intended to “insult not only the multinational and multi-faith people of Russia, but also Orthodox believers around the world. “, explained the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a press release.
Canada has in recent months taken a series of sanctions against Moscow because of the Ukrainian conflict, which have notably targeted Patriarch Kirill, head of the Russian Orthodox Church.
Those sanctioned by Russia have distinguished themselves by “malicious activities in the fight against “the Russian world” and traditional Russian values”, assures the communiqué of the Russian diplomacy.
On this list are notably the spokesperson for the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Adrien Blanchard, the Catholic priest and editor of the magazine Convivum, Raymond J. de Souza, the commander of intelligence of the Canadian armed forces, Michael Charles Wright, as well as several advisers to Canadian Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and an LGBT activist, Brent Hawkes.
Russia launched a military offensive in Ukraine on February 24. This assault provoked unprecedented Western sanctions against Moscow, which retaliated with similar measures.