France and Germany announced yesterday that they will propose sanctions against Russian individuals to the European Union after they did not receive a credible response from Moscow regarding the poisoning of opposition member Alexei Navalny with a nerve agent.
Several Western governments have said Russia, which denies Navalny's accusations that it was involved in his poisoning, must help the investigation or face consequences.
This decision and the speed with which the two main European powers agreed to push the sanctions, shows the tightening of the bloc's diplomacy towards Moscow, according to Reuters.
The agency says this is in stark contrast to the situation in 2018, when members needed almost a year to agree on sanctions against Russian individuals following the nerve agent attack on a Russian spy in Britain.
"So far, Russia has not provided any credible explanation. In this context, we believe that there is no other viable explanation for the poisoning of Mr. Navalny other than Russian involvement and responsibility," Foreign Ministers Jean-Yves Le Drian and Heiko Mas said in a statement.
Diplomats previously told Reuters that the two countries would propose imposing sanctions on officials of Russia's GRU military intelligence agency when EU foreign ministers meet on October 12.
"Having drawn the necessary conclusions from these facts, France and Germany will share proposals for additional sanctions with their European partners," said the two ministers.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons confirmed on Tuesday that Navalny was poisoned with a nerve agent from the banned Novichok family.
Reuters writes that EU foreign ministers are expected to give political support on Monday, but that the sanctions will probably not be approved immediately because a legal text must be prepared that requires the agreement of experts from all 27 member states.
Navalny: Shredder is Putin's henchman who protects murderers
Navalny yesterday called on the EU to take strong action against oligarchs close to the Kremlin.
"Sanctions against the whole country will not work. The most important thing is to introduce a ban on the regime's profiteers and freeze their assets," Navalny told Bild.
"They embezzle money, steal millions and on the weekend fly to Berlin or London, buy expensive apartments and sit in cafes," he added.
Navalny said that sanctions should be imposed on Valery Gergiev, the chief conductor of the Munich Philharmonic who, he said, is a supporter of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Navalny also criticized former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Putin's friend and lobbyist for Russian energy companies, saying that he is "Putin's henchman who protects murderers."
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