European Council President Charles Michel announced that he had telephoned Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday to demand the "
immediate release
" of the opponent Alexeï Navalny before the demonstrations scheduled for Saturday in Moscow.
The European leader expressed the “
serious concerns
” of the EU concerning Alexeï Navalny and called for “
full and unconditional respect for his rights,
” said a statement released after this exchange.
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Charles Michel, head of the body representing the Twenty-Seven, took the initiative to contact the Russian president the day after a European summit in order to renew the EU leaders' request for an immediate release from the Russian opponent.
Several Member States and the European Parliament are demanding the adoption of new European sanctions.
Alexei Navalny returned to Moscow last Sunday after being treated in Germany following poisoning with a nerve agent.
The EU has sanctioned several members of the Russian president's entourage implicated in the assassination attempt.
The European Union's foreign ministers are due to start thinking on Monday about the measures to be adopted to support the Russian opponent's requests for release.
But no decision should be taken at this meeting, organized by videoconference because of the pandemic, said a diplomatic source.
Charles Michel informed Vladimir Poutine of the decision to convene "
a strategic debate on EU-Russia relations
" at the European summit in March.
Alexeï Navalny's team called for a protest on Saturday in 65 Russian cities to demand the release of the opponent, "
illegal
"
gatherings
according to the authorities.
The Moscow police, for example, warned that any illegal demonstration "will be suppressed".
