Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Grushko promised that Moscow will take action in response to EU sanctions because of Alexei Navalny (founder of the Anti-Corruption Fund, which is included by the Ministry of Justice in the register of organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent) . He is quoted by RIA Novosti.
“The sanctions path is not our choice, but we will naturally react to sanctions. It is not a secret for those who are trying to arrange a sanctions race, ”the diplomat emphasized.
On March 2, the EU imposed sanctions on “high-ranking officials” of Russia over the situation around Alexei Navalny. 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.
On February 2, the Simonovsky Court of Moscow replaced Navalny's suspended sentence with a real one for violating the conditions for observing the trial period in the Yves Rocher case. He will stay in the colony for 2 years and 6 months, taking into account the year spent under house arrest during the preliminary investigation. The European Court of Human Rights has demanded that the Russian government release Alexei Navalny from prison as an interim measure. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the ECHR ruling an attempt to put pressure on Moscow.
