Russian Foreign Ministry: EU sanctions over Navalny is circus
The Russian Foreign Ministry described the European Union’s decision to expand sanctions against Russian figures in connection with the Alexei Navalny case, a “circus”, considering that what is happening is a pre-planned matter.
The spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said in a statement, on Wednesday: “This European Union’s decision is outside the boundaries of any logic”.
When logic is absent, this means that we are dealing with a silly story that was planned in advance, supported by a media campaign.
European diplomatic sources reported that the foreign ministers of European Union member states agreed to impose new sanctions on Russia, against the backdrop of the arrest of the opposition Alexei Navalny.
The green light from ministers paves the way for measures such as an asset freeze or travel ban targeting people associated with the prison, a prominent Kremlin opponent, Navalny.
Russia threatens to impose countermeasures if the European Union imposes new sanctions on it.
Navalny had survived a nerve gas poisoning attempt and was rushed to Germany for treatment. He returned to Russia in mid-January, and was immediately arrested.
He was sentenced to prison for violating the parole rules in a previous conviction of fraud.
Since then, the European Union countries have demanded the release of Navalny, to no avail, amid a wave of protests in support of him in Russia, and the arrest of thousands of its participants.
