The European Parliament (EP) adopted a resolution calling for the immediate blocking of the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and the introduction of new sanctions against Russia due to the arrest of Alexei Navalny. This is reported by TASS with reference to the press service of the EP.
The deputies demanded the release of the oppositionist, as well as tougher anti-Russian sanctions.
“The European Parliament categorically condemns the detention of Navalny and his supporters and calls for their immediate and unconditional release (…). The European Parliament calls on the Council of the European Union to take an active position during the next meeting and significantly toughen sanctions against Russia, including the imposition of restrictions against individuals and organizations involved in the decision to arrest and imprison Navalny, ”the document says.
Earlier in January, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the purpose of the West's statements regarding Navalny was to divert attention from the crisis, in which the liberal development model found itself. “One can directly feel the joy with which the comments go, as if they were a carbon copy,” he said.
The detention of Navalny at Sheremetyevo airport became known on Sunday, January 17. This happened on the basis of the decision of the head of the Federal Penitentiary Service for Moscow, according to which the oppositionist was put on the wanted list for systematic violations of the conditions of the probationary period. On January 18, he was arrested for 30 days.
Before his arrest, he was in Berlin, where he was taken on August 22, 2020. Two days earlier, during the flight from Tomsk to Moscow, Navalny felt unwell, the plane was urgently landed in Omsk.
