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Russia rejected protests against arrest of Kremlin opponent Alexey Navalny and against the president Wladimir putin three diplomats from Germany, Poland and Sweden. The three representatives had been declared “undesirable”. The EU foreign policy representative Josep Borrell protested the decision to visit Moscow.
This should be reconsidered, Borrell said Friday night. Obtained during a meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey lavrov he learned in Moscow of the imminent deportation and strongly condemned the action. In addition, he had rejected the suspicion that diplomats had done something inconsistent with his status, Borell said. The European Union stands by the affected states in solidarity, added the EU foreign policy representative.
New punitive measures
According to his own remarks, Borrell reiterated the EU’s call for Navalny to be released during his meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. Lavrov reacted harshly at a joint press conference. The EU increasingly behaves like the US and imposes unilateralism Sanctions against other countries, Lavrov said. He was referring to the possibility of new sanctions that are being debated in the EU.
The EU foreign policy chief said there was still no formal proposal for new EU sanctions against Russia. But the 27 member countries would discuss relations with Russia next month. Borrell stressed that the relationship has been in recent years fundamental differences and lack of confidence It was coined.
Lavrov warned that further deterioration in relations could have unpredictable consequences. Russia and the EU disagree on many issues. However, both parties had expressed interest in a broader dialogue in areas where there was agreement. Despite close trade relations and the high level of dependence on energy supply, relations between the EU and Moscow have cooled significantly in recent years since the Russian annexation of the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula in 2014.
The governments of Berlin and Warsaw harshly criticized Russia’s actions and threatened consequences. Stockholm spoke of unfounded measures. The Austrian Foreign Minister announced on Twitter: “Russia’s decision to exclude several EU diplomats is further straining our relations. In difficult times, we need more, not less, diplomacy.”
“We consider this deportation to be unjustified and we believe that this is another facet of what is currently happening in Russia, which is far from the rule of law,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in a press video conference with the French president, Emmanuel Macron. Merkel also emphasized that despite the differences in the Navalny case, the dialogue with Russia must not be broken. “Regardless of all the differences … it is strategically necessary to continue talking with Russia on many geostrategic issues.” The Russian ambassador to Germany, Sergei Netschajew, was summoned to the Foreign Ministry in Berlin for an “urgent meeting” on Friday.
The Swedish Foreign Ministry firmly denied Russian claims that the diplomat had participated in a demonstration in Russia. A ministry spokeswoman said the ministry told Russia it considered the action to be completely unfounded. He did not want to comment on whether there would be a Swedish countermeasure.
The Warsaw government also harshly criticized the expulsion of a Polish diplomat and threatened consequences if Moscow did not reverse its decision. The fact that an employee of the Polish consulate general in St. Petersburg was declared undesirable by the Russian authorities was “alarmed”, according to a statement from the Polish Foreign Ministry on Friday.
The Russian ambassador in Warsaw had been summoned. The Polish side had told him that the diplomat had carried out her official duties under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations. Poland hopes that the Russian leadership will review its wrong decision. If this does not happen, Poland reserves the right to take “appropriate measures”.
The Secretary of State of the United States, Antony Blinken, condemned the deportation. This is an “arbitrary and unjustified” step, again showing Russia’s departure from its international obligations, Blinken said on Twitter on Friday. “We stand in solidarity with Germany, Poland and Sweden,” he wrote.
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab spoke on Twitter of a “crude attempt to distract Russia’s attention against opposition politicians, protesters and journalists.” The move follows a series of activities since the poisoning of the now-imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, which showed that Russia is moving away from international law.
In Moscow it was said that the ambassadors of the three EU countries had been summoned. Russia delivered notes of protest. Diplomats from the Swedish and Polish consulates in St. Petersburg and an employee of the German embassy in Moscow were found to have participated in the unauthorized protests on January 23, he said. Such actions are incompatible with diplomatic status. Thousands of people were arrested at that time.
According to the guidelines of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of April 18, 1961, they must leave the country as soon as possible. At the same time, the Ministry asked the governments of the states concerned to comply with international law. Moscow had repeatedly accused the EU of interfering in its internal affairs.
Navalny was sentenced to several years in prison Tuesday for allegedly violating the probation conditions of a previous sentence. He was arrested in January after returning from Germany, where he had been treated for a poison attack in Russia. Navalny has described his conviction as politically motivated and holds Putin personally responsible for the poison attack. The government rejects any participation.
Navalny was tried again Friday in another trial. He is accused of defaming a World War II veteran. The veteran had worked on a promotional video for constitutional reforms that allow Putin to run for two more terms in the Kremlin after 2024. Navalny described the actors in the video at the time as traitors and puppets of the state. He denies the accusation and talks about some kind of public relations process.
