“President Biden is a junior, so they may have sanctioned his dad, may he rest in peace” Psaki said. “None of us is planning tourist trips to Russia, none of us has bank accounts that we won’t be able to access, so we will forge ahead,” she added.

Aimed at retaliating against US sanctions imposed on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine, the move appeared largely symbolic, since Russia’s Foreign Ministry said it was maintaining official relations and, if necessary, would make sure that high-level contacts with the listed individuals could take place.

“I think we are confident that if we need to have … direct and indirect conversations with Russia, we will be able to do that.”