European Union foreign ministers are likely to approve on Monday new sanctions against Russia over the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny and the violent crackdown on protesters demanding his release.
The move could come a day after the Union’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, threatened Moscow with fresh sanctions for ignoring a ruling from the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) arguing that Navalny should be released. Russian courts, however, have rejected the call, accusing the body of interfering in its domestic judicial affairs.
Calls for tougher sanctions against the Kremlin mounted after Russia expelled earlier in February, three European diplomats, from Germany, Poland, and Sweden, on grounds they attended illegal rallies in support of Navalny. The move was made during Borrell’s visit to Moscow, in a rather embarrassing moment for the bloc’s foreign policy chief who came under fire for his passive stance against Moscow.
The foreign ministers of the 27-nation bloc are meeting in Brussels for talks that will also include a videoconference with the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken. Speaking before the meeting, Germany’s FM, Heiko Maas said that he will be mandated to prepare a list of Russian individuals to be sanctioned.
“I am to be given the order to prepare sanctions – listing of individuals. At the same time, however, we have to look for ways of maintaining a dialogue with Moscow,” Maas told reporters.