WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday added Russia to a blacklist of countries singled out for “egregious violations of religious freedom,” the State Department said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that he was designating Russia, as well as China and eight other states, as countries of concern “for having engaged in or tolerated ‘systematic, ongoing, and egregious violations of religious freedom.’”

Nigeria, which was on the list last year and where Blinken is due to visit this week, was removed.