European politicians who discovered they were on a previously confidential Russian travel blacklist said on Saturday that they were proud of being included, as EU Governments led by Germany criticised the entry bans.
The 89-strong list, formerly undisclosed but revealed to European diplomats on Thursday, includes past and serving parliamentarians and ministers who have been outspoken critics of President Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.
“Being on this list does not change my commitment to the people of Ukraine,” said Swedish MEP Anna Maria Corazza Bildt in a tweet.
“I have more to be proud of than to be afraid of!... Putin’s list is a confirmation that I am doing right as a parliamentarian,” the centre-right politician, married to Sweden’s former foreign minister Carl Bildt, added.
Former Czech Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, a staunch critic of Russia’s policy towards Ukraine, also confirmed he was on the list and welcomed it. “When I saw the other names (on the list), I found out I was in a very decent club. I consider this a reward,” he was quoted as saying by news agency CTK.