[ad_1]
The sanctions were agreed at a meeting of EU ambassadors in Brussels after the bloc’s foreign ministers decided on Monday it was time to consider new EU sanctions.
The sanctions that provide for the freezing of assets and the bans on entry to the EU will be confirmed in writing and will take effect in a few days.
Opposition leader A. Navalnas, 44, was poisoned last month. He lost consciousness when he flew from Tomsk to Moscow and was flown to Berlin a few days after being hospitalized in Omsk.
According to Germany, toxicological tests “unequivocally prove” that Navaln had been poisoned with the nerve paralyzing substance “Novičiok”. The country’s findings have been confirmed by two laboratories in France and Sweden, as well as by the World Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
Russia said Monday that members of the European Union were behaving “irresponsibly” in preparing to impose sanctions on Moscow for the poisoning of the Kremlin critic Navaln with nerve paralyzing substances and threats of retaliation.
EU foreign ministers agreed in principle on Monday to support a joint Franco-German proposal to impose sanctions on Russian officials for the poisoning of opposition leader A. Navaln, diplomats told the AFP news agency.
Three sources said the 27 ministers meeting in Luxembourg had reached a political agreement to start work on measures based on proposals made by Germany and France last week.
Both countries said Moscow was responsible for the poisoning of Novavicok, one of the nerve-paralyzing substances created in the Soviet Union by Navaln, and said “Russia has not provided any convincing explanation.”
Germany and France have previously said they will impose sanctions on “those responsible for this crime and violations of international standards on the basis of their official duties, as well as an entity involved in the Noviçiok program.”
“We see this as completely irresponsible behavior on the part of our so-called European partners, as they impose sanctions in cases that have no judicial decision. There is no evidence, documents or anything else, “Vladimir Jabarov, deputy chairman of the International Affairs Committee of the upper house of the Russian parliament, told the Interfax news agency.
“I think the answer will be: this cannot go unpunished,” he added.
According to Jabarov, Moscow would likely take a “symmetrical response” to possible EU sanctions, but added that the Russian Foreign Ministry would decide on specific measures.
The United Nations Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) previously confirmed the conclusion of Germany, Sweden and France that Navaln had been poisoned with a substance that paralyzes the Novičiok group’s nerves.
Navaln’s family and comrades claim that the Russian authorities are involved in his poisoning. Moscow denies it.
Sergey Lavrov: Dialogue with EU leaders may be interrupted
Russia will be forced to cut off contacts with European Union leaders if the Community does not understand the need for a dialogue of mutual respect with Moscow, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday.
“Those people who are responsible for foreign policy in the West and do not understand the need for a mutually respectful conversation, we will probably have to stop communicating with them for a while, more so, declare that a geopolitical association is not possible with the current government. Russian, “he said. Lavrov.
“If you want,” he stressed.
Speaking about Russian opposition Alexei Navalna and the EU’s position on his poisoning, Lavrov stressed that the EU and Germany must comply with their international legal obligations in this regard.
“For Navaln, we want the European Union and Germany to also comply with international law. There is a convention on aid [tiriant] criminal process, the Single European Convention and its Protocols. We urge them and ask Germany to fulfill its obligations under these international legal instruments, “Lavrov said.
According to Lavrov, he spoke by phone with the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell more than an hour earlier on Tuesday, setting out Russia’s views on the situation and the EU’s position on the matter.
“Russia wants to see if it is possible to work with the EU under current conditions,” said the Russian minister.
At the time, Borrell reaffirmed the EU’s readiness to continue working with Russia while respecting international law, Brussels said.
The EU diplomatic chief “reaffirmed the willingness of the European Union to keep its communication channels open with Russia and to expand cooperation on matters of mutual interest,” the European External Action Service (EEAS) said in a statement.
“The European Union will continue to defend its interests and values, including respect for international law and fundamental rights,” the report said.
Borrell said he had reached an agreement the day before with the EU Council to begin work to punish those responsible for “attempting to assassinate Russia’s opposition policy,” Mr. Navalna, “using a prohibited substance to paralyze the nerves”.
The head of community diplomacy “stressed that the Russian government must do everything possible to ensure that this crime is fully investigated with full transparency and that there is full cooperation with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons,” the report said. from Brussels.
No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written permission of ELTA.
[ad_2]
