MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Russia has barred entry for US Attorney General Merrick Garland and Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Christopher Wray along with other six Americans placed on its entry ban list, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Friday.
"In response to the March 2 sanctions imposed by the US administration against Russian officials, the following incumbent and former US high-ranking officials and figures, who have been involved in implementing the anti-Russian policy, are denied entry into the Russian Federation," the statement says.
Garland tops the list, while Ray is listed sixth. Among the others are Director of the US Federal Bureau of Prisons Michael Carvajal; US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas; former National Security Advisor and US Permanent Representative to the United Nations Susan Rice; and Director of US National Intelligence Avril Haines.
"Besides, entry is barred for John Bolton, former US National Security Adviser and Permanent Representative to the UN, and to Robert Woolsey, the former CIA director," the ministry informed.
The Russian Foreign Ministry pointed out that the decision to step aside from the routine practice of not "shedding [public] light on" Russia’s tit-for-tat measures had been taken due to "the unprecedented nature of complications in the Russian-US relations provoked by Washington.".