EU foreign ministers are expected on Monday to greenlight the preparation of new sanctions against Russia over the jailing of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, according to several diplomats.
Such sanctions would come on top of the ones already imposed last year after Navalny was poisoned by a military-grade nerve agent and had to be treated in Germany. Navalny and Western nations blamed Russian agents for the poisoning, which the Kremlin has repeatedly denied.
The anti-corruption campaigner was then arrested and sentenced to more than two years in prison earlier this month shortly after he arrived back in Moscow from Germany, charged with violating probation while he was recovering outside his home country.
Navalny’s arrest has sparked protests in Russia that were brutally suppressed by the police. The European Court of Human Rights, the international court of the Council of Europe, of which Russia is a member, this week demanded his release, arguing his life was at risk. Moscow dismissed that request as “unlawful.â€
Support for new EU sanctions against Russia has grown since a recent disastrous Moscow visit by the EU’s top diplomat, Josep Borrell, during which he failed to push back against Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who accused EU leaders of lying about the poisoning and called the bloc an “unreliable partner.†Diplomats said Russia’s aggressive stance made it less possible for the EU to take a softer approach toward Moscow.
EU ministers on Monday will also discuss how to more concretely support civil society; how to combat disinformation; as well as areas where the dialogue with Moscow must remain open, like the Iran nuclear deal and climate change, according to one participant of a meeting of EU ambassadors on Wednesday outlining the agenda.
According to three senior diplomats, none of the countries who spoke during Wednesday’s meeting objected to allowing preparation to move forward for possible sanctions, nor did anyone oppose the notion of using for the first time a new so-called EU Magnitsky Act — a mechanism agreed last December that offers more powers to punish individuals involved in human rights violations.
One diplomat said there are already some indications of possible names to target under the new sanctions floating around. Another diplomat said the “External Service [the EU’s diplomatic body] has promised that it will act very quickly [in compiling a final list] but without compromising the legal solidity†of the sanctions, which have to be approved unanimously and can be challenged in court.
This is one of the main reasons why the sanctions, if agreed, would mainly target Russian government officials and not oligarchs, as requested also by Navalny. Finding the required solid evidence to target oligarchs could take more time to do and the aim is to launch the sanctions as soon as possible, potentially ahead of a meeting of EU leaders at the end of next month.
Ahead of Monday’s Foreign Affairs Council, which will take place in person, ministers are set to receive a briefing on Sunday on the latest political developments in Russia from Navalny’s chief of staff and political director Leonid Volkov as well as Ivan Zhdanov, head of Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation, some of the diplomats said. It’s still unclear how many ministers will take part in the Sunday meeting.
Russia will also be one of the topics that will be discussed with new U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will take part in the Monday meeting via video link.
EU ambassadors on Thursday held a lunch with Borrell and according to one of the participants, the foreign affairs chief said he expects ministers will give the green light for the sanctions. During the lunch, “there was no harsh criticism†of Borrell because participants felt the need to show unity and to avoid doing anything that could offer Russia an advantage.
“We know how it went but it’s time to turn page,†said one of the diplomats.
