The Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation considers the prohibition for Moscow Mayor Yuriy Luzhkov to enter the territory of Ukraine as unfriendly step. It is stated in the commentaries of the information and publication department of the Foreign Ministry of Russia.
In particular, it is noted that “Moscow apprehended the decision of the Ukrainian authority concerning prohibition for Luzhkov to enter Ukraine, puzzled”. According to the Foreign Ministry of the Russian Federation, “the Moscow mayor is unjustified accused of infringement of the territorial integrity of Ukraine. Luzhkov has never allowed unfriendly remarks concerning Ukraine. He by his actions actively promotes the development of relations between the two States”.
As it is noted in the commentaries, Luzhkov "only expressed opinion which, to the point, coincides with the view of most Russians, who painfully apprehended the collapse of the USSR, and this is in no way an infringement on the sovereignty of Ukraine".
At the same time, the Russian Foreign Ministry has "become alerted because of the following: the Ukrainian side again and again prohibits Russian citizens the right to express their views concerning our joint past, and once again returned to the vicious practice of "black lists", limiting the entry to the territory of Ukraine for some citizens of the Russian Federation”.
