Germany commented on the new EU sanctions against Russia. The words of the German parliamentarians are quoted by RIA Novosti.
In their opinion, the EU's anti-Russian sanctions show that its leadership “is not ready to rethink its approach to Moscow, even at the cost of discrediting itself as a serious diplomatic partner.”
Deputy of the Bundestag from the party “Alternative for Germany” Siegbert Drese said that the new EU sanctions concern the internal procedures of the judicial and law enforcement authorities of the Russian Federation. “Our position is clear: not to interfere,” he said.
Harald Weiel, a member of the same party, representing the committee on EU affairs in the Bundestag, agreed with his opinion. “By its attempts to precisely control Russian policy with the help of sanctions, the EU discredits itself as a serious diplomatic partner,” he explained. According to Veyel, we are talking about double standards, since the EU “uses its legal system to suppress the opposition”, but at the same time “wants to punish foreign law enforcement officers.”
On March 2, the EU imposed sanctions against “high-ranking officials” of Russia due to the situation around Alexei Navalny ( founder of the Anti-Corruption Fund, included by the Ministry of Justice in the register of organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent ). In particular, the chairman of the Investigative Committee (IC) of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin, director of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) Alexander Kalashnikov, head of the Russian Guard Viktor Zolotov, and Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov were included in the sanctions list. They are banned from entering the EU countries, and they will not be able to keep funds in banks in EU countries.
At the same time, the United States published a list of Russians who fell under the sanctions. Among them are FSB Director Alexander Bortnikov, Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov, Head of the Federal Penitentiary Service Alexander Kalashnikov, Deputy Defense Ministers Pavel Popov and Alexei Krivoruchko, Head of the Kremlin's Internal Policy Department Andrei Yarin and others. In addition to them, the 27th Scientific Center of the Ministry of Defense, the 33rd Central Scientific Research Institute of the Ministry of Defense and the Scientific Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology (GosNIIOKhT) fell under the sanctions.
Later, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that a symmetrical response to new sanctions would soon follow.
