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BRUSSELS — EU-Russian relations took a further dip on Tuesday when the European Union strongly condemned Moscow for banning officials from the European Union from entering the country to attend the funeral of slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov.

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European Parliament President Martin Schulz called the bans a “high affront” and said he will intervene with Russian authorities “in the strongest terms and demand an official explanation.”

Latvia, which holds the rotating EU presidency, joined the criticism, arguing in a statement that the move to deny MEP Sandra Kalniete entry “flies in the face of basic principles of humanity.”

Poland joined the chorus of criticism after its senate speaker Bogdan Borusewicz was kept out of the country for the funeral.

Borusewicz said Russia is now “an undoubtedly authoritarian system that is moving in the direction of dictatorship.”

In Moscow, thousands of mourners and dignitaries filed past the white-lined coffin of Nemtsov, many offering flowers as they paid their last respects to one of the most prominent figures of Russia’s beleaguered opposition.