(VOVworld) – The European Union hit out Saturday at a travel ban imposed by Russia on 89 European citizens, calling it “totally arbitrary and unjustified”.

Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has faced criticism over his country’s 'sabre-rattling’ military exercises. (Photo: AFP)

In a statement, the EU’s Foreign Service said beyond releasing the names of the blacklisted individuals to diplomats, Moscow has failed to provide “any other information on the legal basis, criteria and process of this decision”. The same day, European Parliament President Martin Schulz called on Russia to ensure the transparency of the decision. Some countries, whose citizens have been added to the list, such as Britain and Germany criticized the ban and expressed their hope that Moscow will explain more about the decision.

Earlier, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said that Russia issued Saturday a blacklist of politicians from Eu, barring them from traveling to the Russian Federation in reaction to the EU sanctions over the crisis in Ukraine. The list includes 46 citizens, parliamentarians, and defense and security officials from Poland, Switzerland, Britain, Germany, Finland, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, and Latvia.