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The new pressure measures are aimed at putting pressure on Russia in the framework of the Navalny case.
The European Union (EU) reported adopting new unilateral coercive measures against high-ranking Russian citizens due to the situation surrounding opposition figure Alexei Navalny. The EU imposed the measures on Tuesday against senior officials related to the imprisonment of the right-wing activist.
Among those affected are Russian Prosecutor General Igor Krasnov, head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Federal Penitentiary Service Alexander Kalashnikov, and head of the National Guard Viktor Zolotov.
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Shortly after that, the United States announced similar measures and trade and visa restrictions against Russia and connected with the Navalny case. The U.S. sanctions include seven senior Russian officials and several entities allegedly involved in biological agents' production.
The authorities of both powers acknowledged having acted in coordination in adopting these measures, which pursue the stated objective of putting pressure on the Eurasian giant.
The EU sanctions against Russia over Navalny constitute an unjustified provocation, which will lead to further escalation, when what is needed is serene judgment.
— Alfred de Zayas (@Alfreddezayas) March 2, 2021
In this context, the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, expressed that his country will respond without fail, recalling that one of the rules of diplomacy "is reciprocity."
Alexey Navalny was arrested last January and sentenced to three and a half years in prison on charges of large-scale fraud in his business activity sphere.
Navalny's imprisonment generated condemnations and threats of new sanctions against Moscow by the United States and the European Union (EU), decisions that the Kremlin has considered interference in its internal affairs.
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