MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. The EU sanctions against the representatives of the Valdai International discussion club will not affect its activities in any way, Director of Research Fyodor Lukyanov told TASS.

"They won't have any effect," he said. "We expected this to happen at some point. We have been working, and we will continue to work."

Lukyanov added that he had not been to Europe in ages, sanctions or no sanctions.

Earlier, Lukyanov, Chairman of the Council of the Fund for the Development and Support of the Discussion Club Andrey Bystritsky, Program Director of the club, Director General of the Russian International Affairs Council Ivan Timofeyev, Dean of the Faculty of International Relations at MGIMO of the Foreign Ministry, club expert Andrey Sushentsov, Deputy Director of the Center for Integrated European and International Studies at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, club expert Dmitry Suslov were put on the EU black list.