Discussion has been held in the lower house of the Russian legislature, the Duma, on the possibility of imposing sanctions against Finland for denying some of its members entry visas to attend a meeting of Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe in Helsinki July 5-9.
The Duma on Friday issued a condemnation of Finland for refusing entry visas to its Speaker Sergei Naryshkin and five other Russian citizens all of whom are on the EU sanctions list.
According to the Interfax news agency, the chair of the Duma's foreign affairs committee, Alexei Pushkov, said Friday that he does not rule out possible sanctions. However, Pushkov stressed that the issue has to be agreed upon in collaboration with the Russian government.
The imposition of sanctions was brought up in the Duma by a Communist Party MP who made reference to legislation on special economic measures. It was this law that Russia used when it introduced sanctions banning the import of foodstuffs from the EU.
Pushkov noted that the terms of the 2006 law make it possible to impose a broad range of actions including the suspension of cooperation projects, suspension of foreign trade operations, a freeze on international trade agreements and changes to customs tariffs.
