MOSCOW. March 18 (Interfax) - Russia's State Duma has issued a statement concerning the sanctions introduced regarding Russia by the United States and European Union.
"The decision by Mr. Obama and European officials is allegedly related to the unjust stance of Russia regarding the referendum held in Crimea and the city of Sevastopol. They do not like that our brotherly nations have made the decision of self-determination and accession to Russia almost unanimously via open democratic procedures and in accordance with the international legal standards," the State Duma said in the statement passed on Tuesday (353 deputies voted for it and not a single vote against).
U.S. President Barack Obama has decided to restrict the rights of a few Russian citizens with his order of March 17, the document said.
"Such a reflection of the people's will is surprising because the U.S. and EU have always declared their commitment to democracy and supported the right of nations to determine their destiny by themselves," the statement said.
The fact that chairperson of the State Duma committee on family, women and children's issues, Yelena Mizulina - "one the most authoritative female parliamentarians of Russia" - is included in this list is twice as astonishing, the State Duma said. "Russian citizens have trusted her to represent their interests in the Russian parliament for over 20 years," deputies said.
"The appearance of Yelena Mizulina on the list obviously shows that this list has nothing to do with the so-called Crimean topic and confirms yet again that the U.S. is trying to restrict the rights of those, who have clear civic stance of their own," the statement said.
It is clear that "all this political hysteria is a reaction to the bill banning gay propaganda among minors, which was passed upon the initiative of Yelena Mizulina," the document said.