Moscow responds to EU’S sanctions

MOSCOW is expanding the list of European officials barred from entering Russia in response to the European Union’s sanctions over the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

The move comes a day after Mr Navalny, a longtime adversary of President Vladimir Putin, released a recording of a phone call he said he made to an alleged state security operative, who was identified by media as a member of a team that has reportedly trailed the politician for years.

In the recording, the man indicated his involvement in covering up the supposed poisoning and revealed some details of the alleged operation.

In October, EU foreign ministers imposed sanctions on six Russian officials and a state research institute over what German authorities said was poisoning in Russia with a nerve agent.

Russia’s Foreign Ministr y called the EU sanctions “a confrontational political decision” and announced that it was expanding “the list of representatives of EU member states and institutions who will be denied entry to the Russian Federation”.

The ministry did not reveal either the names of the EU officials or the exact number who would be barred from Russia.

But it did say the list includes “those who are responsible for promoting anti-russian sanctions initiatives” in the 27-member bloc.

Mr Navalny fell sick during an August 20 flight in Russia and was flown to Berlin while still in a coma for treatment two days later.

Labs in Germany, France and Sweden, and tests by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), established that he was exposed to a Soviet-era Novichok nerve agent.

Diplomatic missions of the three countries, as well as the Delegation of the EU to Russia, have been notified of the measures taken in response to the EU sanctions, the ministry said.

According to the German Foreign Ministry, the German charge d’affaires in Moscow was told that Russia has issued entry bans against “German government agencies” but no further details were given.

The ministry said the pattern of Russian retaliatory measures is familiar, but it still considers them “unjustified”.

It reiterated the German position that the Navalny case is not a bilateral matter, but has a wider international import due to the use of a chemical agent.

It renewed calls for Russia to clear up what happened.

Russian authorities have repeatedly denied any involvement.