A Russian government official, a close associate of Vladimir Putin, who have been imposed, became the highest Moscow politician who entered the European Union’s airspace since the start of the war in Ukraine, after Italy and France have allowed France.

Valentina Matviyenko, Speaker of the Upper House, holds the third place in Russia’s hierarchy behind only President Putin and Prime Minister Michael Misutin. He is the head of a Russian delegation at conferences in Geneva organized by the Inter -Parliamentary Union, although it is subject to sanctions by the US, the EU, the United Kingdom and Switzerland for its role in war.

The 76 -year -old Matviyenko overseeed the votes at the Russian Federal Council to approve Putin’s troops and the attachment of four occupied Ukrainian areas.

The EU banned the entry of Russian aircraft into its airspace a few days after the launch of February 2022, saying that Member States “would refuse to land, take off or overflow in their territories”. The Matviyenko aircraft flew over Turkey and the Mediterranean Sea before traveling via Italy to Geneva on Monday and departed for Moscow on Wednesday via French and Italian airspace, according to online flight tracking data.

Italy has allowed the Russian aircraft to enter its airspace at the request of the Swiss government, according to people in Rome. The Italian government consulted the authorities of France, which had also received an overflow before giving permission, they said.

The Foreign Ministry in Paris did not immediately respond to a request for commentary.

A spokesman for the Swiss Foreign Ministry refused to comment on the case of Matviyenko, but said the government could approve exceptions from the local travel ban described in detail in sanctions, “especially if the person travels to participate in an international conference”.

While Swiss airspace is closed to Russian aircraft, “exceptions are foreseen, especially for flights for humanitarian, medical or diplomatic purposes,” the spokesman said.

Matviyenko participated in the sixth World Conference of Parliament’s Presidents and the Summit of Women’s Presidents of Parliament in Geneva, which, according to the Parliamentary Union, are organized “in close cooperation” with the United Nations.

In a speech at the Women’s Summit, Matviyenko reiterated the Kremlin’s false allegations that Ukraine was ruled by a “Nazi” who had seized power by a coup in 2014. She justified the invasion of the “regime of Kiev” and called the Kievian regime. “War of Information Against Russia”.

A European Commission spokesman said there was no removal of EU bans on Matviyenko or Russian aircraft. Member States could grant exceptions for “emergency humanitarian need or for reasons of intergovernmental meetings”, as well as to facilitate political dialogue “which directly promotes the political objectives of restrictive measures, including supporting territorial integrity and sovereignty”.

Russian and Ukrainian delegations were invited to the event to “provide space for a possible dialogue,” a IPU spokesman said.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said the Russian visit to Geneva “should never have happened”. Matviyenko’s position “is in the dock of the accused, not in international conferences,” he said on the X platform.