EU agrees Russia sanctions over Navalny poisoning

Alexei Navalny stands near law enforcement agents in the hallway of a business center, which houses the office of his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), in Moscow, December 26, 2019. (AFP)
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Updated 26 May 2023
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EU agrees Russia sanctions over Navalny poisoning

  • UN’s chemical weapons watchdog OPCW confirmed Germany, France and Sweden’s finding that Navalny was poisoned
  • A poison from the same group was used to attack former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England in 2018

BRUSSELS: The EU agreed Wednesday to impose sanctions on six people and one entity over the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexey Navalny with a Novichok nerve agent, diplomats told AFP.
Ambassadors from the 27 EU countries approved sanctions after France and Germany proposed measures last week, saying Russia was responsible for the poisoning.
In line with usual EU practice, those targeted by the sanctions — travel bans and asset freezes — will not be named until the measures take legal effect on Thursday, but they are likely to be Russian officials.
Paris and Berlin said last week they wanted to target individuals “based on their official function” and an entity “involved in the Novichok program.”
European powers have repeatedly asked Moscow to investigate the poisoning, which took place on Russian soil, but in a joint statement last week the French and German foreign ministers said the Kremlin had come up with “no credible explanation.”
The move to punish Russia came after the UN’s chemical weapons watchdog OPCW confirmed Germany, France and Sweden’s finding that Navalny was poisoned by a nerve agent of the Soviet-developed Novichok group.
A poison from the same group was used to attack former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter in England in 2018 — an incident that prompted the EU to sanction four members of the Kremlin’s military intelligence.
The latest measures were signed off politically by EU foreign ministers on Monday, a move hailed by Germany’s Heiko Maas.
“I believe it is of paramount importance in the light of such a serious crime — a violation of international law and the chemical weapons convention — that the European Union shows unity, and it has done so today,” he said.
EU diplomatic chief Josep Borrell pressed Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on the Navalny case during phone talks on Tuesday.
Borrell’s office said he called for Moscow to “do its utmost to investigate this crime thoroughly in full transparency” and cooperate with the OPCW.
Lavrov on Wednesday criticized the measures, accusing the EU of bowing to US pressure and “replacing the art of diplomacy with sanctions.”
“Of course the current policy of the EU will not go without consequences,” Lavrov warned at a news conference in Moscow.


Kremlin says former minister’s suicide is shocking

Updated 2 sec ago
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Kremlin says former minister’s suicide is shocking

MOSCOW: The Kremlin said on Tuesday that the suicide of former Transport Minister Roman Starovoit just hours after his dismissal by President Vladimir Putin was shocking.
Starovoit was found dead in his car outside Moscow with a gunshot wound and the principal hypothesis is that he took his own life, state investigators said on Monday, hours after Putin fired him.
A presidential decree published on Monday gave no reason for the dismissal of Starovoit after barely a year in the job.

Philippines summons Chinese envoy over sanctions against former senator

Updated 13 min 17 sec ago
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Philippines summons Chinese envoy over sanctions against former senator

  • Francisco Tolentino was banned from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau over ‘egregious conduct’ detrimental to relations between Manila and Beijing
  • He lost his bid for a second term in the Philippines’ midterm elections in May

MANILA: The Philippines’ foreign ministry has summoned China’s ambassador to Manila over Beijing’s imposition of sanctions against former senator Francis Tolentino, the president’s office said on Tuesday.

Tolentino, who lost his bid for a second term in the Philippines’ midterm elections in May, was banned from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau over “egregious conduct” detrimental to relations between Manila and Beijing.

Tolentino helped in approving laws last year that defined the country’s sea lanes and maritime zones, which China opposed. He also accused the Chinese embassy of contracting a firm that maintains troll farms to sow disinformation.

“The imposition of punitive measures ... is inconsistent with the norms of mutual respect and dialogue that underpin relations between two equal sovereign states,” presidential press officer Claire Castro told a briefing.

Manila’s foreign ministry said it summoned Chinese ambassador Huang Xilian on Friday. China’s embassy in Manila said in a statement the ambassador notified the Philippines’ foreign ministry of China’s decision to impose sanctions on Tolentino.

“It should be noted that such sanctions fall purely within China’s legal prerogative, and there are consequences for hurting China’s interests,” the embassy said.

The Chinese foreign ministry has previously accused some Filipino politicians of making “malicious remarks and moves” that hurt ties between the two nations.

Relations between China and the Philippines have soured under President Ferdinand Marcos over a longstanding dispute in the South China Sea.

In 2016, an international tribunal ruled Beijing’s sweeping claims to the waterway had no basis in international law. China has rejected the decision. Several other countries in Southeast Asia also claim parts of the South China Sea.


Russia main election monitor closes amid crackdown

Updated 49 min 25 sec ago
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Russia main election monitor closes amid crackdown

  • Golos said it had “no choice” but to end its activity after the sentencing of its co chair, Grigory Melkonyants, as it put its participants “at risk”

MOSCOW: Russia’s main independent voting observer Golos, which monitored the country’s increasingly tightly-controlled elections for 25 years, announced its closure on Tuesday, two months after its co-chair was jailed.
Golos — which means “voice” in Russian — had for years meticulously recorded voting fraud across the huge country as elections under President Vladimir Putin’s long rule turned into a ritual with little real choice.
Putin faced no real competition at the last presidential election in 2024 and a domestic crackdown accompanying Moscow’s Ukraine offensive has made voicing different views dangerous.
“Justice, alas, does not always win — it must be fought for. And there is always the risk of losing. This is how it turned out this time,” Golos said in an online statement, adding: “Goodbye.”
The group’s co-chair Grigory Melkonyants, Russia’s most respected independent election observer, was sentenced to five years in prison in May as part of the Kremlin’s sweeping crackdown.
Golos said it had “no choice” but to end its activity after the sentencing as it put its participants “at risk.”
Melkonyants, 44, was found guilty of working with a European election monitoring association outlawed as an “undesirable organization” in Russia — which Golos has repeatedly denied.
Golos has described itself as an “all Russian social movement in defense of voters’ rights.”
It had observers across Russia’s regions and had for years published online reports and maps of violations during elections and had a hotline to report voting fraud.
It said Tuesday it had shut down its regional offices.
International observers have for years reported widespread voter intimidation, ballot stuffing and other election fraud in Russia.


Suspect in shooting of Slovakia’s populist leader Fico stands trial on terror charges

Updated 08 July 2025
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Suspect in shooting of Slovakia’s populist leader Fico stands trial on terror charges

  • Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico was shot in the abdomen and was transported to a hospital in nearby Banská Bystrica

BRATISLAVA: A man went on trial Tuesday over last year’s attempted assassination of Slovakia’s populist Prime Minister Robert Fico.
Juraj Cintula, appearing in court in the central city of Banská Bystrica, has been indicted on terror charges.
“Long live democracy, long live free culture,” Cintula shouted as he arrived at the Specialized Criminal Court.
The 72-year-old is accused of opening fire on Fico on May 15, 2024, as the prime minister greeted supporters following a government meeting in the town of Handlová, located 140 kilometers (85 miles) northeast of the capital.
Cintula was immediately arrested and was ordered by a court to remain behind bars. If convicted, he faces life imprisonment.
Fico was shot in the abdomen and was transported to a hospital in nearby Banská Bystrica. He underwent a five-hour surgery, followed by another two-hour surgery two days later. He has since recovered.
Cintula originally was charged with attempted murder. Prosecutors later dropped that charge and said they were instead pursuing the more serious charge of engaging in a terror attack, based on evidence the investigators obtained, but they gave no further details.
Government officials initially said that they believed it was a politically motivated attack committed by a “lone wolf,” but announced later that a third party might have been involved in “acting for the benefit of the perpetrator.”
Fico previously said he “had no reason to believe” that it was an attack by a lone deranged person and repeatedly blamed the liberal opposition and media for the assassination attempt.
Fico has long been a divisive figure in Slovakia and beyond. He returned to power for the fourth time after his leftist Smer, or Direction, party won the 2023 parliamentary election after campaigning on a pro-Russia and anti-American message.
His critics have charged that Slovakia under Fico has abandoned its pro-Western course and is following the direction of Hungary under Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Thousands have repeatedly rallied in the capital and across Slovakia to protest Fico’s pro-Russian stance and other policies.


China says US is in ‘no position’ to point fingers over Tibet issues

Updated 08 July 2025
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China says US is in ‘no position’ to point fingers over Tibet issues

  • The Dalai Lama is accused of engaging in anti-China separatist activities

BEIJING: China’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday that the United States was in “no position” to point fingers at the country on Tibet-related issues, urging Washington to fully recognize the “sensitivity” of the issues.

Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning made the remarks when asked to comment on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s statement on the Dalai Lama’s birthday.

Mao said at a regular press conference that the Dalai Lama “is a political exile who is engaged in anti-China separatist activities under the cloak of religion,” and has “no right” to represent the Tibetan people.