MOSCOW : Russia has expanded its list of "unfriendly countries" to include Greece, Denmark, Slovenia, Croatia and Slovakia.
When their embassies, consulates, and government organisations in Russia want to hire local personnel, the banned nations are subject to a quota or perhaps a complete prohibition, as per reports by Xinhua.
The Russian government said in a statement on Friday that Slovenia and Croatia will not be permitted to hire staff for their diplomatic missions and consular offices. Currently, Greece has a maximum of 34 persons, Denmark 20, Slovakia 16, and Bosnia and Herzegovina will not be able to do so.
The number of contacts (with Russia) naturally declines when a country is added to a list of hostile nations, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, who was responding to the government's decision during a daily briefing.
The move comes a day after Russia barred 39 Australian people from entering the country in response to Canberra's sanctions against Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine. Officials from the security and defence industries are among the Australian residents barred from entering Russia.
In reaction to limitations imposed by these countries, Russia sanctioned officials from Western countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada. Personal sanctions have already been placed by Moscow on senior US and Canadian officials, including US Vice President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. On February 24, this year, Russia invaded Ukraine.
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