MEP Guoga blacklisted by Russia

The fact of blacklisting of Guoga, who won the MEP mandate through the list of the Lithuanian Liberal Movement but is no longer a member of the party, was confirmed to BNS by the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry.

Lithuania’s Foreign Minister Linas Linkevičius confirmed last week that other two MEPs, Laima Andrikienė and Algirdas Saudargas of the conservatives, had also been listed as personas non grata.

Guoga wrote on social media that he can no longer enter Russia due to what he said was “stonger-worded positions” he has stated at the European Parliament.

“I organized a serious event about Lithuania’s energy independence, I constantly support the Lithuanian army over threats of the Putin regime, I speak about Russian propaganda attacks and improvement of cyber security, I defended interests of Lithuanian carriers and farmers after Russia introduced an embargo on our companies,” the politician said.

Two years ago, the Finnish media said that the Russian list of persona non grata included Vytautas Landsbergis, honorary chairman of the conservative Homeland Union – Lithuanian Christian Democrats, the parliament’s opposition leader Andrius Kubilius, ex-MP Artūras Paulauskas and former chief of the State Security Department, Gediminas Grina.

The list of European Union (EU) politicians unwanted in Russia are Liberal MEP Petras Austrevicius, the Lithuanian Radio and Television Commission chairman Edmundas Vaitekunas and Lithuania’s Ambassador to the EU Jovita Neliupšienė.