Photo taken on Sept. 18, 2016 shows the closing ceremony of Rio 2016 Paralympic Games at Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (Xinhua/Purbu Zhaxi)

MOSCOW, March 9 (Xinhua) -- A senior Russian lawmaker said Thursday he and his colleague were barred by German authorities from entering the country for a meeting with the International Paralympic Committee (IPC).

Igor Lebedev, a deputy speaker of the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, said he and Mikhail Degtyarev, chairman of the house's sport committee, were barred from entering Germany due to personal sanctions against them.

Lebedev and Degtyarev, among others, have been sanctioned by the European Union for their alleged role in the Ukrainian crisis since 2014.

The two Russian lawmakers were expected to meet with the IPC leadership in the committee's headquarters in Germany's Bonn on Friday, according to a report by RIA Novosti news agency.

Last year, the IPC suspended the Russian Paralympic Committee (RPC)'s membership and banned Russian athletes from 2016 summer Olympic Games and 2018 winter games over doping accusations.

The RPC is open to cooperate with the IPC on reinstatement of Russian membership prior to the 2018 games in South Korea, Russian Sports Minister Pavel Kolbkov said last month.