Sanctions agreed

Brussels: European Union foreign ministers agreed yesterday to impose sanctions on four senior Russian officials close to President Vladimir Putin in a mainly symbolic response to the jailing of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny.

The agreement, which is expected to be formally approved by the EU in early March, came after France, Germany, Poland and the Baltic states urged the 27member bloc to send a message to Putin that debate and protest must be allowed in Russia.

Navalny was arrested after returning to Moscow last month from Germany, where he had been recovering from a nearfatal poisoning in Siberia with what Western nations said was a nerve agent. His arrest sparked protests across Russia.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said the decision was taken to go ahead with sanctions quickly, but gave no details.