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After the protests across Russia for the release of the imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny, there are calls for further EU sanctions against Russia.
The punitive measures would have to affect oligarchs and friends of Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, said opposition members living abroad around the former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky on Saturday evening.
“Hunt them, follow their money flows,” said former world chess champion Garry Kasparov at the online press conference.
The EU should use the sanctions instrument that it adopted in December to combat human rights violations.
The European Union's foreign representative, Josep Borrell, announced that he would discuss the next steps with the foreign ministers of the EU countries at a meeting in Brussels on Monday.
FDP leader Christin Lindner called for a moratorium on the continued construction of the controversial German-Russian Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 2.
In historic protests on Saturday tens of thousands of Russians demonstrated in around 100 cities for the release of Navalny and against President Vladimir Putin.
Civil rights activists counted more than 2,600 arrests nationwide by Saturday evening.
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Navalny was sentenced to 30 days in prison on Monday in a controversial urgent procedure.
The 44-year-old is said to have violated reporting requirements in previous criminal proceedings while he was recovering from a poison attack in Germany in August.
Several laboratories, including one from the Bundeswehr, had confirmed poisoning with the neurotoxin Novitschok.
The EU has therefore already imposed sanctions on Russia.
Manuel Sarrazin, Eastern European policy spokesman for the Greens in the Bundestag, was impressed by the crowds on Russia's streets: "You show a broad solidarity with Alexej Navalny that is anchored in the Russian population," said Sarrazin, according to the statement.
"Hopefully they will act like a life insurance for Navalny on the Putin regime." The FDP foreign policy expert Alexander Graf Lambsdorff criticized the fact that Navalny's wife Julia was temporarily arrested and "practically held in kin".
In doing so, the government is violating international and Russian law.
After the recent unveiling video by Navalny's team about a huge palace allegedly built by Vladimir Putin with bribes, the anger of the demonstrators was also directed against the president.
The Kremlin had rejected the allegations in the film, which was viewed more than 70 million times, as nonsense.
“Putin is a thief”, people chanted in many places - and not only demanded the release of Navalny, but also the resignation of the Kremlin chief.
Political scientist Tatiana Stanovaya commented that the protests made Navalny a hero in the country.
The opposition politician's staff announced that they want to continue the protests in the coming week.
Because of the corona pandemic, rallies have not been approved in Russia for months.
Those who take part anyway have to expect high fines.
The protests on Saturday were an "important first step," said Nawalny's team.
Now it takes a second and a third step.
"It's hard to say when we'll win."