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By Akinwande Soji-Ojo
In a retaliatory move, President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree to introduce visa restrictions on citizens of nations that Russia considers “unfriendly” in response to sanctions over Ukraine.
The decree, signed on Monday, will suspend Russia’s simplified visa issuance regime.
Putin also ordered the Russian foreign ministry and other bodies to decide on introducing personal entry restrictions on “foreign citizens and stateless people who commit unfriendly actions against Russia, its citizens or its legal entities.”
Russia had recently published a list of countries and territories taking “unfriendly actions” against it.
The list includes Albania, Andorra, Australia, Great Britain, Jersey, Anguilla, British Virgin Islands, Gibraltar, European Union member states, Iceland, Canada, Liechtenstein, Micronesia, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, South Korea, San Marino, North Macedonia, Singapore, United States, Taiwan, Ukraine, Montenegro, Switzerland, and Japan.
It also decided to subject all corporate deals with companies and individuals from “unfriendly countries” to approval by a government commission.
Putin had sent thousands of troops into Ukraine on February 24, in what he called a peace-keeping special operation.His action was criticised globally.
Ukrainian forces have mounted stiff resistance, and the West imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia to force it to withdraw its forces.
Thasounds have been killed while about four million persons have been displaced as a result of the war, which had put a strain on the world’s economy.