MOSCOW, April 3. /TASS/. Lawmaker of the State Duma (the lower house of the Russian parliament) representing the Communist Party, Valery Rashkin, plans to file a petition with the Russian Foreign Ministry to ban entry to Russia for the deputies of the Ukrainian parliament, who voted for recognizing this country an "aggressor state". Rashkin made his plans public in an interview with TASS.
This winter, the Rada passed an appeal to the world community to recognize the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics as terrorist organizations and to classify Russia as an aggressor state.
At the moment, the Kiev authorities are actively imposing this initiative on the regional and local legislative councils, Rashkin said.
"As a deputy of the State Duma, I’m guided by my country’s interests and I plan asking the Foreign Ministry to ban the entry of this country’s territory for the Ukrainian deputies of all levels who voted for this appeal and thus throw their shoulder into supporting the Russophobic psychosis in their country," he said.
"It’s totally unreasonable now to allow the Ukrainian politicians who call Russia an aggressor to visit this country for the purposes of business or for the showings of political activity," Rashkin said.
He expressed hope his initiative would have a sobering effect on the Ukrainian counterparts who would yet have to vote on the issue.
Rashkin suggested that the desirable duration of the ban would be five or more years.