Russia has dismissed the European Union's criticism of the Kremlin’s recent blacklisting of EU officials, which came in retaliation for the 28-nation bloc's sanctions against Moscow.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov was reacting to several statements justifying the EU measures against Russia.

“I would like to say that we responded with mutuality to a unilateral, unfriendly and unprovoked step. And we did that after we contained ourselves for a very long time," he said on Monday.

The EU had on Saturday criticized the Russian bans as "totally arbitrary and unjustified, especially in the absence of any further clarification and transparency."

The Netherlands said on Friday that Moscow had issued the blacklist of politicians from the EU, barring them from traveling to the Russian Federation.

The Kremlin prepared the list to retaliate against the bans imposed by the EU on Moscow over Crimea’s decision to join Russia in a 2014 referendum as well as the Kremlin’s involvement in the ongoing conflict in eastern Ukraine, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said at a press conference.

The Union and the United States have taken a series of punitive measures against Moscow over the past months, accusing the Kremlin of supporting pro-Russia forces operating in eastern Ukraine.

The Kremlin, however, has denounced the accusations as groundless and reacted by enforcing restrictions on some food imports from the US, the EU, Norway, Canada, and Australia.

Russia's blacklist consists of 89 names, according to a letter from Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders, which was tweeted by Belgian MEP Mark Demesmaeker.

Rutte said that two Dutch lawmakers and a Dutch Member of the European Parliament (MEP) were among those blacklisted.

Lavrov also said that the European Commission had asked for the blacklist, saying it was "for our confidential information so that Brussels could inform those individuals in the list."

"We handed over the list under the European Union's request on a confidential basis and it immediately began leaking into the press and the European Union, which usually doesn't comment on leaks, commented on it with exuberance. So I believe that this is also a breach in etiquette norms," the Russian top diplomat said.

HN/KA/HMV