[ad_1]
The poisoning of the Kremlin critic Navalny with a nerve agent sparked horror and outrage across Europe. EU foreign ministers now want to react with sanctions against those responsible.
After the poison attack on Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny, the EU is launching new sanctions against Russia. According to diplomats, the foreign ministers of the EU countries agreed in a meeting in Luxembourg to initiate the necessary preparations.
There was “broad consensus” among ministers on the Franco-German proposal to include Russian officials on the EU sanctions list, a diplomat said. Consequently, a “political agreement” was reached at the meeting to implement this.
So far “no credible statement” from Russia
Germany and France had previously proposed punitive measures by the EU for the attack with a military nerve agent from the Novichok group. They justified the move by stating that Russia had not yet complied with requests for a full investigation of the crime.
So far, Russia has not provided a credible explanation for the cruel assassination attempt, a statement said. Therefore, it is believed “that there is no other plausible explanation for Mr. Navalny’s poisoning than the involvement and responsibility of Russia.”
According to the plans of the two countries, the punitive measures are aimed at people “who by their official role are considered responsible for this crime and the violation of international legal norms, as well as an institution involved in the Novichok program. Specific sanction decisions due to the use of the military nerve agent Novichok will now be made in the responsible EU body.
“Specific and proportionate sanctions”
Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had confirmed that Nawalny’s poisoning was a violation of the Chemical Weapons Convention. This cannot be without consequences.
Without an explanation from Russia, “specific and proportionate sanctions against those responsible are inevitable,” Maas had already stressed in the Bundestag last week. He criticized that Moscow had not yet answered why the Kremlin critic might be poisoned with a neurotoxin from the Novichok group in Russia. The development, manufacture and possession of chemical weapons alone are a “flagrant violation” of international law.
Poisoning in domestic flight
Russian Kremlin critic Navalny collapsed on August 20 while on a domestic flight in Russia. After an emergency landing in the Siberian city of Omsk, he was transferred to the Charité in Berlin at the urging of his family. The 44-year-old has since left the hospital, but has yet to make a full recovery and is undergoing rehabilitation in the German capital.
Navalny suspects that the Russian state is behind the poison attack against him. The opposition is one of the harshest critics of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Russian government rejects the suspicion that Russian government agencies may have deliberately poisoned Navalny.
