Lavrov: Moscow Will Definitely Respond to Any Sanctions Imposed by the US

Earlier on Tuesday, media reports said that Washington is expected to impose sanctions against Russia over the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Moscow will definitely respond to possible US sanctions against Russia.

The statement comes as the Russian president’s press secretary, Dmitry Peskov, said that the Kremlin is confident the policy of sanctions against Russia will not achieve its goal, and that the Kremlin will focus on Moscow’s own interests.

He declined to comment on Washington’s alleged plans to impose new sanctions on Russia over the case of opposition figure Alexei Navalny, stressing that these were just media reports.

The Kremlin spokesman also noted that those who impose sanctions should think about whether international affairs are getting worse, and whether they themselves and their policies are the reason for the deterioration of these affairs.

The Bloomberg news agency, meanwhile, has reported that the possible US anti-Russian sanctions will be in sync with those introduced by the EU.

US May Impose Navalny-Related Sanctions on Russia on Tuesday, Report Says

This comes after Reuters cited unnamed sources as saying that Washington may slap sanctions on Russia over the alleged poisoning of Navalny.

The sources claimed the US will impose restrictions under two executive orders – 13661, issued after Crimea’s reunification with Russia in 2014, and 13382, issued in 2005 to counter proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny attends a hearing to consider an appeal against an earlier court decision to change his suspended sentence to a real prison term, in Moscow, Russia February 20, 2021.

The sanctions could also be imposed under the Chemical and Biological Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 1991 (CBW), according to the insiders.

On Monday, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said the White House had closely coordinated its response to Navalny’s imprisonment with the EU. Earlier, the bloc agreed to expand sanctions against Moscow over the Navalny case during a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

He added that Moscow regards the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruling on Alexei Navalny as interference in Russia’s internal affairs. On 16 February, the ECHR granted an interim measure in favour of Alexei Navalny and urged the Russian government to release the opposition figure.

Navalny Case 

The West has repeatedly urged Russia to release Navalny whose suspended sentence in the 2014 Yves Rocher fraud case, was replaced in early February with a real prison term of 2.5 years over multiple probation breaches. Moscow considers calls to free the Russian opposition figure unacceptable and unlawful. 

In mid-January, Navalny returned to Russia after receiving treatment in Germany following an alleged poisoning in Siberia. Berlin claims that German doctors found evidence in Navalny’s body of poisoning with a nerve agent from the Novichok group.

Moscow rejects the allegations, noting that Russian doctors had found no such substances while Navalny was being treated in Russia.

Sourse: sputniknews.com