In a retaliatory move, Russia has ordered the ban of 18 Americans, including two officials who served under President George W Bush's administration, from entry into Russia. This comes as the issue comes to a head due to the death of whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky.
The US Department of Treasury had ordered visa bans to be imposed as well as assets frozen for eighteen Russian nationals who are located in the United States. Another sixteen individuals are connected to the case of Magnitsky, who died in a Russian jail back in 2009 after revealing a US$230 million tax fraud ring that included a number of Russian officials.
Russia then banned the same number of Americans, saying that the United States was conducting 'outright blackmai' and branding the so-called Magnitsky Act as 'absurd'.
In a statement from the Russian foreign ministry, "The war of lists is not our choice, but we cannot ignore outright blackmail. This is an intervention into its domestic affairs and is a strong blow to bilateral relations."
Join the Conversation