Lithuania considers national sanctions for Russian nationals involved in Ukraine crisis

“This is being done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I believe we will be updated shortly about the content of the sanctions and who will be included,” the president told Vilnius journalists when questioned about whether Lithuania should follow the steps of Latvia and impose entry bans for some Russian citizens.

In her words, the possibility to impose national sanctions has been discussed with other EU member states.

“The decision was made by the General Affairs Council in Brussels last week that alongside the general sanctions, every country has the possibility to impose national sanctions, and Lithuania is considering such sanctions as well,” the president said.

Latvian Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics decided earlier this week to include Russian pop singers Oleg Gazmanov, Yosif Kobzon and Valeriya (real name Alla Perfilova) into the list of persons banned from entering Latvia. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia said these individuals contributed to the damage done to Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity with their words and actions. The blacklisted artists had planned to attend the annual pop music festival New Wave in the Latvian resort of Yurmala, which started on 22 July.