Russia's Foreign Affairs Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova has had her VISA to enter Malta to attend the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) meeting revoked.

Sergey Lavrov, Russia's Foreign Affairs Minister, will travel to Malta for the OSCE meeting being held tomorrow and on Friday. Zakharova was meant to be accompanying him.

While Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is subject to EU sanctions (which this newsroom understands to be an asset freeze) there is no travel ban against him, however Zakharova, his spokesperson, is under a travel ban, a spokesperson for the Maltese Foreign Affairs Ministry told The Malta Independent.

"In the case of Ms. Zakharova's travel, we adhered to the relevant (EU) Council decision, which provides for exemptions for OSCE host nations and the country holding the Chairmanship. This provision has been used in previous meetings without contestation. A visa was issued to Ms. Zakharova in accordance with these provisions, subject to the consideration of EU member states. However, three countries raised objections, just as Russia last year objected to a particular country assuming the OSCE Chairmanship," the spokesperson said.

"The Chair's actions were fully consistent with the Council Decision's overarching objective of promoting political dialogue in support of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity," the spokesperson for the Maltese ministry said.

The Russian Foreign Affairs Ministry, meanwhile, issued a statement regarding the OSCE meeting, which, among other things, says: "Special attention will be paid to failure to issue visas to members of the Russian delegation who planned to attend various OSCE events, including the upcoming Ministerial Council meeting. Cancelling, right before the event, a visa that had been earlier issued by the Maltese Chairpersonship to Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova, allegedly due to circumstances beyond their control, was unprecedented."