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News ID: 86911
Publish Date : 25 January 2021 - 21:15

EU Weighs New Sanctions on Russian Officials

BRUSSELS (Dispatches) -- The European Union will consider fresh sanctions on Russian individuals on Monday after a number of people were arrested across Russia on Saturday for attending protests called by Western-backed blogger Alexei Navalny.
Lithuania’s foreign minister, arriving in Brussels for a meeting of the bloc’s 27 top diplomats, claimed "a change is in the air in Russia” that the bloc must support, especially after Navalny’s detention as he returned to Russia from Germany.
"The EU needs to send a very clear and decisive message that this is not acceptable,” Gabrielius Landsbergis said in a video statement, calling for more sanctions on Russian individuals.
The EU already has economic sanctions on the Russian energy, financial and arms sectors over the Crimea peninsula’s decision in 2014 to rejoin Russia and has imposed sanctions on Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin in response to Navalny’s alleged poisoning in August.
Fellow Baltic countries Latvia and Estonia support more EU sanctions on Russian individuals, and Italy’s foreign minister said on Sunday that Rome was ready to support more travel bans and asset freezes. Romania publicly backed sanctions on Monday.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas demanded the immediate release of protesters, but did not make further comment.
Germany and France, the EU’s main powers, will be central to deciding if the bloc goes ahead with punitive measures on Russia, a big oil and gas exporter to the bloc, although no detailed list of names is expected to be decided on Monday.
A pipe-laying vessel has started work in Danish waters ahead of the resumption of construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, the consortium behind the project said on Sunday, amid pressure from the United States and European Union to halt it.
The project, designed to boost Russian gas supplies to Europe and bypass Ukraine, has met resistance from Washington, which wants to sell its own sea-borne liquefied natural gas to the European Union and cut the region’s reliance on energy supplies from Moscow.
European Union lawmakers passed a resolution on Thursday calling for the bloc to stop the completion of the Nord Stream 2 in response to Navalny’s arrest.
The Kremlin says it has seen no evidence that Navalny was poisoned and that it will not heed calls by some Western countries for sanctions over Navalny’s detention because his case is a domestic matter.