KIEV, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- The Ukrainian parliament on Thursday approved a controversial bill to vet Russian artists who plan to perform in Ukraine.
The legislation concerning Russian musicians, singers and other entertainment professionals, was approved by 232 "yes" votes, passing the 226-vote threshold, according to a statement on the parliament website.
The law says Russian performers will be allowed to go on tour in Ukraine only after they are cleared by the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU).
Such tour organizers need to submit a written request to the SBU no later than 30 days ahead of their planned tours.
The bill also prohibits all Russian performers blacklisted by the SBU for "posing a threat to Ukraine's national security" from touring the country.
In March, the SBU banned Yulia Samoilova, a Russian contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 being held in Kiev, from entering the country, saying she had violated the Ukrainian law by visiting the Crimean Peninsula in 2015 without notifying Kiev.
According to Ukraine's State Border Service, more than 70 Russian performers have been officially barred from entering Ukraine.
Relations between Kiev and Moscow have been deteriorating since early 2014 over their different stances on the developments in Crimea and eastern Ukraine.
