European MEP denied entry to Russia amid speculation of new sanctions against Europe

European MEP denied entry to Russia amid speculation of new sanctions against Europe. 53645.jpeg

European Parliament member Rebecca Harms was denied entry to Moscow, which caused extreme dissatisfaction from the German Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

"The refusal from the Russian authorities to deny entry (to Harms) in the country is unacceptable," a message posted on the official Twitter account of the German Foreign Ministry said, RIA Novosti reports.

Harms arrived in Moscow on Friday, September 26th, to take part in the hearings of the case of Ukrainian pilot Savchenko. According to German publication Die Zeit, the deputy stayed at the airport for three hours.

"Despite the fact that I have a diplomatic passport, I was denied entry to Russia. I was told  to take the next plane flying back, and any attempt to enter Russia would be considered a criminal offense. So I am flying back to Brussels today," said Harms.

The Director of the Department for European Cooperation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs  of the Russian Federation, Ivan Soltanovsky said Thursday that Moscow did not rule out a possibility to deny entry to Russia for European politicians in response to the anti-Russian sanctions.

On Friday, September 26th, the Basmanny Court of Moscow is considering a complaint from the defense of Ukrainian pilot Nadezhda Savchenko, who was ordered to undergo a complex inpatient forensic psychological and psychiatric examination.

According to Russian investigators, Savchenko was a spotter during the shelling of Russian journalists Anton Voloshin and Igor Kornelyuk in Ukraine. The journalists subsequently died. Savchenko was charged with complicity in the murder of journalists. According to the investigators, Savchenko was detained in Russia, after she entered the country under the guise of a refugee.