On Friday, Russia announced sanctions against eight European Union officials in retaliation for measures imposed by Brussels in March. Community institutions responded by saying that they reserve the right to take new measures.

Specifically, Moscow indicated that “the European Union continues its policy of imposing illegal unilateral restrictions on Russian citizens and organizations.” Entrance ban Eight senior officials, including the President of the European Parliament.

The European Union reserves the right to take appropriate measures in response to the decision of the Russian authorities, The heads of the three European Union institutions – the European Council, the European Parliament and the European Commission – responded in A. Joint statement.

Among those sanctioned by Moscow are David Maria Sassoli, President of the European Parliament, and Vera Gurova, Vice President of the European Commission in charge of values ​​and transparency.

“Apparently, I am not welcome in the Kremlin. I have questioned that a little … No sanctions or intimidation by the European Parliament or myself will prevent me from standing up for human rights, freedom and democracy. Threats will not silence usSasoli replied in a message on his Twitter account.

According to the Russian diplomatic statement, Moscow is responding in this way to the sanctions imposed by the European Union on March 2 and 22 on Russian citizens, actions that, according to Moscow, seek to “publicly challenge the independence of Russian domestic and foreign policy.”

On March 2, the European Union announced that it was imposing sanctions on four Russians accused of committing grave human rights violations. Such as arbitrary arrests and detentions – particularly opposition leader Alexei Navalny – as well as the mass and systematic suppression of freedom of peaceful assembly in Russia after the rallies to protest the arrest.

These measures included Banning entry to the territory of the European Union and freezing of assets of officials, Among them are the head of the Russian Investigation Commission, Alexander Bastrykin, and Prosecutor Igor Krasnov.

On March 22, the Council of the European Union decided to take restrictive measures against those responsible for gross violations of human rights in various countries around the world, Primarily the torture and oppression of lesbians, gays, bisexual, transgender and political opponents in Chechnya, the Russian Caucasus Republic.

Bypassing the sanctions is the latest episode in the deterioration of relations between Moscow and the bloc. It has already been worn since the end of 2020 when the two sides collided due to the crisis in BelarusGiven Moscow’s support for the Minsk dictator, Alexander Lukashenko, who for weeks quelled protests against him after winning an election that the international community described as rigged.

Since then, the two have collided too The mobilization of Russian forces towards the Crimea and the border with UkraineMeasures strongly condemned by Brussels before Moscow ordered its withdrawal to calm tensions.

With information from Agence France-Presse

Read on: