Russia slaps sanctions on Joyce, other legislators
Blacklist comes as reaction to Biden measure
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U.S. Rep. John Joyce, R-13th District, said sanctions imposed on him and other members of Congress by the Russian government will have no effect on his stance against the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"I had no intention to do business in or visit a country that commits war crimes," Joyce said in a statement released after the sanctions were announced. "Russia's sanctions of me does not change that."
Moscow has imposed tit-for-tat sanctions on 398 members of the U.S. House of Representatives, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday as reported on TASS.
TASS, the Russian news agency owned by the Russian government, reported that the restrictions are in response to another wave of sanctions the Biden administration imposed on Russia on March 24. Those sanctions targeted "328 members of the State Duma, which, given that some Russian lawmakers had been sanctioned earlier, meant that nearly all of its members were blacklisted," the ministry said on the TASS website.
"The individuals in question, including top officials and committee chairpersons in the lower house of the US Congress, have been blacklisted by Russia permanently. Together with other incumbent lawmakers, who, like House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, were barred from entering Russia earlier, all members of the U.S. Congress have been blacklisted on the basis of reciprocity," the ministry stated.
In a statement, Joyce said, "It's an honor to be recognized as a member
of Congress who is personally sanctioned by the totalitarian government of Russia because I choose to stand for freedom, democracy and the people of Ukraine."
According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow will soon announce new retaliatory measures, particularly expanding the blacklist, as well as other steps.