US and EU sanctions against Russia

DrThe European Union is imposing sanctions on high-ranking Russian officials to imprison Kremlin critic Alexei Navalenj. A similar legal law was passed in writing on Tuesday and will soon be published in the official gazette of the European Union, as DPA learned from diplomats in Brussels. Influenced by Russian Prosecutor Igor Krasno and Chairman of the Central Investigation Commission Alexander Bastrykin. In addition, the penalties are directed against the head of the Prison Authority, Alexander Kalashnikov, and the commander of the National Guard, Viktor Solotov.

As US government representatives in Washington announced on Tuesday, the United States is also imposing sanctions on seven of the top Russians. A US government representative said on Tuesday that US intelligence services had reached a conclusion with a high degree of certainty that FSB personnel carried out the attack with a neurotoxin from the Novichok group. The new President of the United States, Joe Biden, had announced a tougher course with Moscow.

Russia refers to the “principle of reciprocity”

Meanwhile, Russia criticized the punitive measures taken by the European Union and the United States and threatened to take countermeasures. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that those who use sanctions as a means of political pressure should know that “such a policy will not achieve its goal.” For his part, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov referred to the “principle of reciprocity” applied in diplomacy.

A new sanctions tool created last year was used for the first time to impose European Union sanctions. This makes it possible to freeze the assets in the European Union of actors who commit or benefit from serious human rights violations. In addition, an entry ban to the European Union is imposed.

Opposition politician Navalnej was sentenced to prison in a concentration camp in Moscow in early February. He is said to have violated the monitoring requirements multiple times in a previous criminal case in 2014 for fraud and misappropriation of funds. The European Union considers the ruling unacceptable because Navalnig had to be treated in Germany for several months after being attacked by a neurotoxin. It suspects that the opposition politician should be marginalized politically.