Russia announces travel ban on EU officials over 'hasty and secretive' Navalny sanctions

Russia’s foreign ministry on December 22 said that it would impose entry bans on representatives of EU and institutions in response to penalties imposed by the bloc over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. According to the official press release, Russia said that in response to “confrontational” EU actions, it had decided to expand the list of representatives of EU member states and institutions who will be denied entry to the Russian Federation. While they did not mention any names, they, however, said that the measure would target those who are responsible for “promoting anti-Russian sanctions initiatives within the framework of the EU”. 

The ministry said, “Acting in a hasty and secretive manner, the EU Council took a confrontational political decision that runs counter to the UN Security Council's international legal prerogatives, as well as the Helsinki principles of non-intervention in the internal affairs, cooperation among States and good-faith fulfilment of obligations under international law. Specific names were selected at random to fit this EU Council decision”. 

They further added, "We reaffirm that any unfriendly action by Western countries will inevitably be met with an adequate response”. 

Back in October, the European Union had decided to impose travel bans and freeze the assets of six senior Russian officials. The EU had also imposed sanctions on the State Scientific Research Institute for Organic Chemistry and Technology, which is suspected of having produced the Novichok toxic nerve agent that several European laboratories confirmed had been used to poison Navalny. Further, the Kremlin critic had also urged the European Union to take strong action against perpetrators close to the Russian government. 

READ: Navalny Releases Recording Of Call To His Alleged Poisoner

READ: German Confirms Navalny Questioned As Witness In Poisoning

FSB ‘would have taken it to the end’ 

Meanwhile, the new sanctions by Russia come a day after Navalny said that he had tricked a Russian agent into admitting the FSB tried to kill him by placing poison inside his underwear. The FSB, on the other hand, described the evidence as fake and said that he was aided by foreign intelligence services. Earlier this week, Russian President Vladimir Putin also said that Navalny would have died, had state agents tried to assassinate him. His remarks came in reference to an investigative report which claimed, with substantive evidence, that Russia’s FSB poisoned him.

Speaking at his annual press conference, Putin described the report as the “legalization of materials from the American special services" and added that Navalny "has their support". Justifying the tailing of the Kremlin critic, Putin said that Russia “of course” shadowed him, but did so because he was aligned with America. He blatantly dismissed the claim that Russian agents were behind Navalny’s poisoning. Furthermore, he reckoned that if the Russian special services had wanted to poison Navalny, "they would have taken it to the end.”

READ: Navalny Says He Was Interrogated In Germany

READ: Vladimir Putin Says If FSB Poisoned Navalny, They Would Have 'taken It To The End'