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Following the poison attack on Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny, the EU decided to impose sanctions on Russia. According to information from SPIEGEL, these are measures against six representatives of Russia. Initially, the names were not disclosed to prevent those affected from safeguarding assets that might exist in the EU before the official sanction decision.
The New York Times reports that among those affected are the head of the FSB’s powerful national intelligence service, Aleksandr Bortnikov, and Sergei Kirijenko, deputy head of the Kremlin administration, one of the most powerful men in Russia. As the dpa news agency reports, a Russian organization will also be sanctioned.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov reacted quickly in an interview with a Moscow radio station, announcing “perfect” counter-sanctions. This equivalent answer, also a list of names, is a practice in diplomacy, Lavrov said.
Entry bans and account freezes
EU foreign ministers backed the corresponding Franco-German sanctions proposal on Monday. So far, Russia has not given a credible reaction to the cruel assassination attempt, according to a statement from Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) and his French colleague Jean-Yves Le Drian. Therefore, he is of the opinion “that there is no plausible explanation for the poisoning of Mr. Navalny other than the involvement and responsibility of Russia.”
Entry bans and account freezing will be imposed on those affected. The decision of the EU ambassador has yet to be confirmed in writing. The names of the affected Russians are expected to be released on Thursday.
Germany and France had proposed that, in addition to “persons (…) who are held responsible for this crime and for the violation of international legal norms due to their official role,” they also take action against an institution “that participates in the Novichok program “.
