The European Parliament called for tougher EU and US sanctions against Russia

The authorities of the European Union and the United States should tighten sanctions against Russia in the event of an escalation of the situation in the Donbass or a deterioration in the health of opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who is serving a term in a colony. This opinion was expressed by Manfred Weber, chairman of the leading faction of the European Parliament, the European People's Party, in an interview with the Funke media group.

According to him, Moscow “continues the course of dangerous provocations,” and the deployment of Russian troops in the region of eastern Ukraine is “a test for the West.” “The answer to this question must be clear and firm,” the politician believes (quoted by Die Zeit).

As Weber noted, the EU and the US should show politically what the Russian leadership is getting into. “A large-scale freeze on the accounts of oligarchs or cutting Russia off from the SWIFT payment system should be viable options in the event of an escalation. In this case, further construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline across the Baltic Sea will no longer be sustainable,” he added.

On April 7, Bloomberg, citing sources, reported that the US authorities were going to impose sanctions against persons close to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and were also considering the possibility of expelling Russian diplomats. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, commenting on the publication, said that Moscow would respond to any unfriendly steps on the part of the United States. At the same time, he called Washington's line towards Moscow "a dead end, maybe even stupid." According to him, this "does not bring any result in terms of the goals that were announced when the sanctions were introduced."