Kremlin outraged by Finland's denying entry to Duma Chairman Naryshkin - Peskov
MOSCOW. July 1 (Interfax) - The Kremlin is outraged by Finland's decision to deny entry to Russian State Duma Chairman Sergei Naryshkin to take part in an OSCE Parliamentary Assembly session and views it as unacceptable, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
"Certainly, we consider it outrageous, because the head of a Federal Assembly chamber planned to take part not in events concerning bilateral relations but in international events. Therefore, we definitely see this denial as unacceptable," Peskov told journalists on Wednesday.
Asked whether Russia could take retaliatory steps, Peskov said that Finland's denial requires a qualified evaluation. "And it can be made only by the Foreign Ministry," he said.
Finnish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Vesa Hakkinen had told Interfax earlier that Naryshkin would be denied entry to Finland to take part in an OSCE Parliamentary Assembly session due to open in Helsinki next week. Naryshkin and some other Duma deputies included in the delegation are under EU sanctions.
Naryshkin had earlier proposed an OSCE PA draft resolution condemning the imposition of sanctions on parliamentarians.
