The Foreign Ministry commented on the EU decision to expand sanctions against Russia

The Foreign Ministry noted that “the decision adopted by the EU Foreign Affairs Council on February 22 of this year is disappointing.

under a far-fetched pretext, the decision to prepare new unlawful unilateral restrictions on Russian citizens. "

The department believes that "another opportunity has been missed for the European Union to rethink the course of artificial linkages, sanctions and pressure in relations with Russia, which has demonstrated complete failure over the past years."

“Instead, obeying bloc discipline and anti-Russian stereotypes, Brussels is instinctively pushing again on the inoperative sanctions button.

Moreover, contrary to logic, a political decision is first made, and then it is planned to arbitrarily select candidates for it, ”the message says.

The ministry said that “another erroneous step by the EU Council was taken in the context of an unprecedented warming up of the anti-Russian information background in the European Union the day before.” 

The Foreign Ministry stressed that they consider “the constantly sounding unlawful and absurd demands for the“ release ”of a Russian citizen who was convicted of economic crimes by a Russian court on the territory of our country in accordance with Russian law as categorically unacceptable."

“In international practice, this is called interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign state,” the department said.

The ministry added that "the rooting of such illegitimate instruments in the EU's foreign policy arsenal - ultimatums, pressure and sanctions - is only regrettable." 

Earlier it was reported that the foreign ministers of the EU countries decided to impose new sanctions against Russia against persons who, according to Brussels, "are responsible for the conviction of Alexei Navalny."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that the main goal of the EU sanctions against Russia is not to worsen relations, but to assert themselves in European states.

His Austrian counterpart Alexander Schallenberg expressed the opinion that the EU should not "cut the branch on which the EU is sitting" in the issue of imposing sanctions against Russia.