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Moscow threatens tit-for-tat to EU denial of visas to Crimean residents

Xinhua, August 10, 2016 Adjust font size:

Russia may take measures against the European Union in response to the EU's denial of entry visas to Russian citizens living in Crimea, a senior official said Wednesday.

"The EU prohibition to issue visas to Crimeans is a clear violation of human rights and we cannot leave it unanswered," Andrei Kelin, director of the Russian Foreign Ministry's European Cooperation Department, was quoted by the Interfax news agency as saying.

"We always have opportunities for response measures in some similar areas. In terms of readmission, for example," Kelin said without giving more details.

The EU in 2014 restricted entry visas to residents of Crimea after the peninsula was absorbed into Russia following a referendum, which was recognized by Moscow but rejected by Ukraine and Western powers.

The visa restrictions were extended along with other sanctions against Crimean residents in June 2016 for another year. Endi