Italy's deputy foreign minister Marina Sereni on Friday condemned Russia's ban on European Parliament president David Sassoli and seven other European officials in retaliation for EU sanctions against several top Russian security officials last month.
"Russia's sanctions against European Parliament president Davi Sassoli, European Commission vice-president Vera Jourava and others are unacceptable," read Sereni's tweet.
"For us (Italy) human rights are inextricably linked with Europe's identity and we will never cease to uphold them," the tweet added.
Russia's foreign ministry issued a statement on Friday saying it was barring Sassoli, Jourava and six other European officials from entering the country in retaliation for sanctions imposed on Russian citizens by the European Union.
The statement said the blacklistings of the European officials were in response to EU sanctions imposed in March against four top Russian security officials for the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and a violent police crackdown against pro-Navalny protesters.
The EU also slapped sanctions in March on two Russians accused of persecuting gay and lesbian people in Russia' southern Chechnya region.
