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Ukraine bars French lawmakers after visit to Crimea

Crimean parliament speaker Vladimir Konstantinov (L) speaks with French right-wing UMP party member of parliament Thierry Mariani at the State Council in Simferopol on July 23, 2015. (AFP)

Ukraine has officially blacklisted a group of French lawmakers who paid a highly-publicized visit to the Crimea region.

The National Security Service of Ukraine, also known as the SBU, on Thursday imposed the bans on 10 right-wing members of France’s lower and upper houses of parliament, barring them from entry into the country for three years.

The SBU called the visit harmful to the “national security” of Ukraine, saying the move “encroached upon the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine.”

Most of the lawmakers were members of the French Republican Party of the former president, Nicolas Sarkozy. Their visit came despite an official warning by the French government. Paris views Crimea's rejoining the Russian Federation, which took place after a referendum in March last year, as “occupation.”

On March 16, 2014, people living in the Black Sea peninsula voted in favor of joining the Russian Federation after a deep political crisis in the capital, Kiev, saw Ukraine’s President Viktor Yanukovych ousted from power.

The yes vote triggered a barrage of economic sanctions against Russia by the European governments and the United States, while Russia reciprocated by banning the import of food from European countries.

The French lawmakers used their weekend stay in Crimea to praise Russian President Vladimir Putin for promoting the living standards in the region.

A similar trip is planned by members of Italy’s opposition Five Star Movement in October. Some members of the political group have openly challenged the effectiveness of embargoes on Russia, saying the trade war resulting from the bans has seriously affected the income of farmers in southern Europe.


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