Russia Introduces U.S. Visa Blacklist in Lawyer Row

Russia said Saturday it had put high-ranking U.S. officials implicated in "human rights crimes" on a visa black list, saying that list would grow if Washington continued to put pressure on Moscow.

Washington had earlier outraged Moscow by banning visas for an unspecified number of Russian officials linked to the 2009 death in prison of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, which became a symbol of abuses in the Russian judicial system.

Moscow's announcement of the visa black list was made during U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's visit to ex-Soviet Central Asia and comes as Russia's tough-talking Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is gearing up to reclaim the presidency in March elections.

Many fear his comeback will a deal a blow to the "reset" in relations championed by his youthful protégé, incumbent President Dmitry Medvedev who prides himself on building rapport with U.S. President Barack Obama.

The Russian foreign ministry released a statement Saturday saying it had made good on its earlier promise to put together its own list in response to "political provocation" against Russia.

"Relying on the principle of reciprocity, a list of U.S. nationals whose stay in Russia is deemed undesirable has been put together," the foreign ministry said.

Moscow accused Washington of "moralizing" and reeled off a number of what it said were U.S. rights violations such as "uninvestigated murders of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan" and "indefinite detention of prisoners in Guantanamo".

The list "contains high-ranking Washington officials implicated in the aforementioned high-profile human rights crimes," said the foreign ministry without providing any names.

The statement warned that if Washington continued to put pressure on Moscow, the list would be expanded to include more U.S. officials.

"A line has not been drawn -- if the U.S. side continues on its path of visa confrontation we will be forced to expand that list," the statement said.

Moscow released the foreign ministry statement as the top U.S. diplomat was visiting the impoverished ex-Soviet nation of Tajikistan.

Asked to comment on Moscow's tit-for-tat move, a U.S. official accompanying Clinton told Agence France Presse that Washington "will work on this." The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, did not provide further details.

Analysts say U.S.-Russia ties may take a beating as Medvedev is gearing up to leave the Kremlin next year and Obama faces a tough re-election bid in 2012.

Earlier this month U.S. Republican presidential front runner Mitt Romney warned that the Obama administration's "reset" of relations with Russia "has to end."

Earlier this week Putin went on national television, telling his foreign critics to "mind your own business" and warning against outside interference in his country's domestic affairs.

Replying to a request to comment on Western attempts to brand him a "hawk," Putin said that "hawk is a good little bird."