Biden, 962 other top US officials barred from entering Russia

GBNews24 Desk//

Russia has banned the entry of 963 Americans into the country, including US President Joe Biden, Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg and Hollywood actor Morgan Freeman.

The list was published on Saturday.

Those named in the list on the Russian foreign ministry’s website also include US government officials, lawmakers and other leading figures.

Moscow had already announced sanctions targeting many of those on the list, in particular Biden, his Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the head of the Pentagon Lloyd Austin and Zuckerberg.

Freeman, who had not previously been named by Russian authorities, is accused by Moscow of having recorded a video in 2017 in which he claimed Russia was plotting against the US.

“The Russian counter-sanctions are necessary and aim to constrain the US which is trying to impose a neocolonial ‘world order’ on the rest of the planet… to change its position and recognise new geopolitical realities,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

It added that Moscow remained open to “honest dialogue” and drew a distinction between the people of the US and the authorities “inciting Russophobia”.

Since the offensive in Ukraine, Moscow has banned hundreds of “Anglo-Saxons” from Russia.

On Saturday, it said it had also banned 26 more Canadians, including Sophie Trudeau, the wife of the Canadian Prime Minister.