Are Arizona lawmakers upset about being on Russian travel ban list? Nyet – Cronkite News

The Russian Embassy in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 24, the working day Russia invaded Ukraine. 3 months later, the war is dragging on and Russia has expanded its sanction on hundreds of Individuals to include things like Arizona lawmakers – most of whom greeted the information with a smile or a shrug. (File photo by Emily Sacia/Cronkite News)

WASHINGTON – Rep. Ruben Gallego, D-Phoenix, took the news that he has been banned from moving into Russia by its foreign ministry in stride – and with tongue firmly planted in cheek.

“I’m heartbroken. I was so wanting forward to vacationing in Siberia,” Gallego tweeted in April in reaction to the record that was current this weekend.

All nine members of Arizona’s Residence delegation were on the newest listing, which contains hundreds of U.S. lawmakers, business and policy leaders, academics, activists, journalists and “other U.S. citizens beneath individual sanctions, which includes a ban on entry into the Russian Federation.”

The record initially appeared in March, an expected response in type to U.S. sanctions on Russia and Russian officers. But some of the names on the newest record were sudden: Previous Arizona Sen. John McCain, who was a harsh critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, has been lifeless given that 2018.

“Almost 4 yrs just after his passing, Sen. John McCain’s identify showing up on this farcical sanctions checklist shows just how a lot Sen. McCain still scares Vladimir Putin and his cronies in the Kremlin,” stated Evelyn Farkas, government director of the McCain Institute.

For other Arizonans who were on the checklist of 963 blacklisted People, reaction to that designation ranged from sarcasm to defiance, with several expressing they would use it as a badge of honor.

Rep. David Schweikert, R-Fountain Hills, said in an April Fb submit that building the record reveals that “dictator Putin is afraid of someone who speaks out in opposition to atrocities committed by Russia. I am very pleased to carry on to aid our Ukrainian brothers and sisters in the deal with of aggression.”

Associated story

Rep. Tom O’Halleran, D-Sedona, reported he was “proud to be sanctioned by the Russian governing administration this spring. I’m even additional proud to hear I have now been banned. We will have to continue on to struggle again from Putin and his unlawful and deadly war.”

When all of Arizona’s Residence users ended up on the most-modern list, which incorporated additional than 200 Residence associates from both get-togethers, the state’s two senators ended up not. Requests for comment from Arizona Democratic Sens. Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly were being not straight away returned.

The listing did contain 35 sitting senators and two more late senators, Orrin Hatch of Utah and Harry Reid of Nevada.

When it was very first produced in March, the prevent record was a tiny additional selective, focusing on top U.S. officers such as President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, among many others.

The U.S. is not the only country whose citizens Russia blocked. Russia has also hit European Union member states, Japan and Canada with vacation limitations, after those people countries imposed sanctions and expulsions on Russian officials to condemn its invasion of Ukraine in February.

But nobody is really perspiring around not staying ready to gallivant via Red Sq. for their summer trip.

“It will not surprise any of you that none of us are setting up vacationer journeys to Russia, and none of us have bank accounts that we will not be able to accessibility, so we’ll forge in advance,” explained then-White Residence Press Secretary Jen Psaki in a March push briefing.

Rep. Raul Grijalva, D-Tucson, claimed this 7 days that he is “looking forward to the day when I can check out Russia less than a peaceful and democratically elected govt much like that of Ukraine. My help of Ukraine continues to be steadfast in their struggle from tyranny and fascism.”

Farkas, the McCain Institute director, also built the listing that involves numerous believe tank leaders. But she does not seem to be anxious.

“As for my identify appearing on the list as nicely, when I liked my past visits to Russia, in the words and phrases of Sen. John McCain, I guess I’ll go to Sedona as a substitute of Siberia now,” she said.