MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The suggestion of introducing penalties for Ukrainian lawmakers and politicians over visits to Russia is an exaggeration, Konstantin Zatulin, a senior Russian lawmaker, told Sputnik on Saturday.
Earlier in the day, head of Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) Vasyl Hrytsak suggested introducing a criminal responsibility and a legislative ban for Ukrainian lawmakers and public figures for their visits to Russia.
"To issue penalties for visiting Russia is, in my opinion, such an exaggeration, which cannot be perceived as a rational action, suggestion of a politician in normal condition," Zatulin, the first deputy chairman of Russian parliament's lower chamber's committee for the Commonwealth of Independent States and relations with Russian nationals abroad, said.
On Friday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko signed into law the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine on biometric control for foreigners on the border from 2018. The decree came into force from the date of its publication.
