How has Russia responded to EU sanctions?

Moscow-Sana

Russia confirmed that the European Union imposed sanctions on Russian officials over the case of Alexei Navalny, frustrated, and considered "interference in Russia's internal affairs."

The High Representative for foreign and security policy in the European Union Josep Borrell confirmed that the European Union foreign ministers at a meeting held in Brussels on Monday agreed to expand sanctions against Russia due to opposition Alexei Navalny.

Novosti quoted the Russian Foreign Ministry as saying in a statement today that “it is disappointing that the European Union’s Foreign Affairs Council made a decision on February 22 under an elusive excuse to prepare new unilateral illegal restrictions on Russian citizens,” stressing that this measure is considered interference in affairs. Interior of Russia in order to impose new sanctions on it.

The ministry added that "Moscow considers the ever-repeated and unlawful and futile demands for the release of a Russian citizen who was convicted by a Russian court of committing economic crimes on our country's territory in accordance with Russian law, as totally unacceptable."

In its statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry made it clear that the European Union had missed another opportunity for it to rethink the course of the relationship with Russia, which showed complete failure over the past years.

It is noteworthy that Navalny was arrested at an airport in Moscow on January 17, as soon as he arrived from Berlin, where he received treatment after an alleged poisoning attempt last August, while the Simonovsky court in Moscow yesterday rejected the appeal by Navalny’s lawyer against his prison sentence issued in late 2014. In the case of embezzlement and the legality of the prison sentence issued against him on the second of this February.