EU Can Impose the Next Sanctions Against Russia

The North Atlantic Council meeting at the ambassadorial level will take place today at NATO Headquarters in Brussels to discuss the situation of the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.  NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu announced this.

In turn, EU High Representative Josep Borrell issued a new statement regarding Navalny’s intoxication, in which he conceded the application of the next sanctions against Russia in response to another case of the chemical weapons usage.

The European Union condemns the assassination attempt on Alexei Navalny, who was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent similar to the one used during the assassination attempt on Sergey and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury on 4 March 2018. The use of chemical weapons is completely unacceptable under any circumstances,  and is a severe violation of international law and international human rights standards. The European Union calls for a joint world response and retains the right to take appropriate measures, including the imposition of restrictive measures,” the statement on the European External Action Service’s website said.

To recap, Alexey Navalny collapsed in pain on a flight from Moscow to Tomsk on 20 August. The aircraft made an emergency landing in Omsk. Navalny was taken to the intensive care unit of a local hospital, connected to an artificial lung, and then  slipped into a coma.

Natalia Tolub