DISINFO: US and several EU capitals are trying to punish Russia for its independent foreign policy
SUMMARY
The sanctions initiated by Berlin and Paris against Russian citizens because of the Navalny case expose the EU’s inability to adequately assess world events and testify to the EU’s desire to place itself above the law.
It must be noted with regret that Washington and several EU capitals are redoubling their efforts to halt Russia’s development and are trying to punish Russia for its independent foreign policy, for the consistent defence of national interests.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation narrative about Navalny’s poisoning and also a pro-Kremlin approach portraying every measure taken against Russia's hostile actions as Russophobia.
In fact, the sanctions from the EU (including Germany and France) do not aim to punish Russia for its foreign policy but were introduced to send a clear signal to the Russian government after Alexei Navalny's poisoning.
Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny fell ill during a flight and was transferred to Berlin's Charite Hospital. The German federal government said that toxicological tests provided “unequivocal evidence of a chemical nerve agent of the Novichok group” in Navalny's blood samples.
The European Union condemned the poisoning of Alexei Navalny in the strongest possible terms and on Thursday 15th October, agreed sanctions against six people believed to have been involved in the “assassination attempt” against Putin’s most vocal critic as well as the Russian State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry and Technology, which it believes developed the chemical used to poison Navalny.
According to the UK intelligence assessment, based on open-source analysis and intelligence information, in the past decade, Russia has produced and stockpiled small quantities of Novichok agents, long after it signed the Chemical Weapons Convention.
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