Moscow Says Blacklist of EU's Kremlin Critics Not Politically Motivated
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Aleksei Meshkov on June 1 rejected Western criticism of the Kremlin’s European Union blacklist, saying that the entry ban against 89 politicians from 17 EU countries was not politically motivated.
Meshkov said the “sole purpose” of the blacklist against staunch Kremlin critics in the EU “is to make somewhat easier the life of persons on that list.”
He said Moscow’s confidence in the EU has been undermined by complaints about the ban from Brussels.
Tensions are high between Moscow and the West over Russia's seizure and annexation of Crimea in March 2014 and its support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine.
The EU has imposed sanctions, including asset freezes and travel bans, on 151 Russians and pro-Russian Ukrainians.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini said on May 30 that the Kremlin’s blacklist was “totally arbitrary and unjustified, especially in the absence of any further clarification and transparency."
Based on reporting by Reuters, AP, AFP, TASS, and Interfax
Here is today's map of the security situation in eastern Ukraine, according to the National Security and Defense Council (CLICK TO ENLARGE):
More than 6,400 killed amid 'tremendous hardship' in Ukraine says UN
Geneva, June 1, 2015 (AFP) -- The United Nations said Monday that more than 6,400 people had been killed in conflict-wracked Ukraine, and despite a slowdown in fighting, millions more are suffering from abuses and hardship.
In its latest report, the UN human rights office noted that an overall decrease in indiscriminate shelling since a fragile truce was agreed in Minsk in February had resulted in a decrease in civilian casualties.
But nonetheless, at least 6,417 people have perished from the beginning of the conflict in mid-April 2014 through May 30, 2015, including at least 626 women and girls, while another 15,962 had been wounded, it said.
"This is a conservative estimate and the actual numbers could be considerably higher," the rights office said in a statement.
Some five million others are meanwhile suffering the consequences of the conflict, including 1.2 million people who have been displaced inside the war-ravaged country, the report said.
"Even with the decrease in hostilities, civilians continue to be killed and wounded," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein said.