Russia bans Joe Biden from...: What Putin's sanctions on Western leaders mean | Ukraine war

Russia's foreign ministry said Tuesday that US President Joe Biden and a dozen other top officials had been banned from entering the country in a reciprocal response to US sanctions.

But the Russian foreign ministry said it was maintaining official relations with Washington and if necessary would make sure that high-level contacts with the people on the list could take place.

Russia said on Tuesday it had put US President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other top officials on a "stop list" that bars them from entering the country.

Their names, together with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, CIA chief William Burns, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan and others, were included on a list of 13 individuals banned from Russia in response to sanctions imposed by Washington on Russian officials. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also named.

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The measure, which also applies to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, "is the consequence of the extremely Russophobic policy pursued by the current US administration", the Russian foreign ministry said in a statement.

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was also named in the sanctions list.