"The EU is deeply concerned about the systematic repetition of harmful and dangerous behavior by Russia in Europe," said a statement from Brussels on Monday (April 19) after a meeting of foreign ministers from the 27 member countries of the Union devoted to relations with Russia.

Between the expulsion of Czech diplomats, the situation in Ukraine and the fate reserved for the Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny, the subjects of tension are not lacking and the Twenty-Seven are trying to agree on levers to be activated, but no sanction is currently under discussion.

Overview of the points of friction.

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  • Expulsion of Czech diplomats

The European Union deplores Russia's decision to expel 20 Czech diplomats and fully supports the Czech Republic, the European Commission said in a statement released on Monday evening.

"The European Union is deeply concerned about Russia's harmful habits of malicious behavior in Europe," she said.

"Russia must stop these activities, which violate well-established international principles and standards and threaten stability in Europe," the Commission added.

Earlier today, Prague said it deemed Moscow's reaction to the diplomatic crisis between the two countries "excessive".

But on Tuesday, it was the Czech foreign minister who said he was ready to expel all Russian diplomats from Prague.

Russia expelled employees of the Czech embassy in Moscow after the Czech Republic accused the Russian secret service of being involved in the explosion of an ammunition depot in 2014 and expelled 18 Russian diplomats.

>> Read also: "Moscow rejects Prague accusations and expels 20 Czech diplomats"

  • Russian troops at the borders of Ukraine

Russia will have gathered within a week more than 120,000 troops on the borders of Ukraine, said Tuesday the Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dmitro Kouleba, calling for new Western sanctions against Moscow.

For its part, Russia accused the United States and NATO of engaging in "provocative activities" in the maritime and air space of the Black Sea.

According to Western observers, the current concentration of Russian forces in the region is higher than it was when Moscow annexed the Ukrainian Crimean peninsula in March 2014.

The Ukrainian foreign minister warned of Moscow's unpredictability, while stressing that Ukraine was not seeking a conflict with Russia.

Dmitro Kouleba added that he had, during a videoconference meeting of European Union foreign ministers on Monday, called on his colleagues to "start considering a new set of sectoral sanctions against Russia".

He added that he did not feel the EU ministers ready to take such an initiative but told them that the individual sanctions taken by Brussels were in his view insufficient.

>> To read also: "Ukrainian soldiers on the war footing against Russia"

In a statement, the Quai d'Orsay recalled Tuesday that Emmanuel Macron had underlined, in an interview granted this weekend to the American channel CBS, the need to show "clarity as firmness" with regard to Moscow. "In the context of the current tensions on the borders of Ukraine and in Crimea, a further attack on the sovereignty or integrity of Ukraine on the part of Russia would be unacceptable and could not, on this basis, remain without consequences, ”added the Foreign Ministry.

"Our efforts today are focused on initiating a de-escalation of tensions. France, alongside Germany, is continuing to this end its discussions within the Normandy format to facilitate the implementation of these agreements by view to allow the establishment of a just and lasting peace in eastern Ukraine, "also underlined the Quay.

The head of Ukrainian diplomacy said he wanted a diplomatic solution to the current crisis but clarified that his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, had declined an invitation to discussions.

  • State of health of Alexey Navalny

The Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny, on hunger strike, is extremely weak and poorly treated in a hospital for tuberculosis prisoners, his lawyers were alarmed on Tuesday April 20, who demanded his transfer to Moscow after visiting him.

The Kremlin's opponent has been in a hospital prison unit in Vladimir, northeast of the Russian capital since Sunday evening.

His relatives say he risks dying at any time from cardiac arrest.

In a post on Instagram, put online after the visit of his councils, the most visible detractor of Vladimir Putin described himself as "a skeleton wandering in a cell".

"He is very weak, he has difficulty sitting down and speaking," his lawyer, Olga Mikhailova, told reporters, assuring that he "does not receive appropriate medical aid".

She demanded his immediate transfer "to a civilian hospital" in Moscow "to prevent her from dying".

>> To read also: "The Russian opponent Alexeï Navalny transferred to a hospital for prisoners"

Western pressure on Moscow remains strong but to no avail, as German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday said she was "extremely concerned" and said she was working to ensure he received proper care.

The person thanked on Instagram "the enormous support" he receives "from Russia and the whole world".

Alexeï Navalny stopped eating on March 31 to protest against his conditions of detention, notably accusing the prison administration of refusing him a visit from a doctor when he suffered from his back and loss of sensitivity in his legs and legs. arms.

With AFP and Reuters

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