Germany leads EU call for more sanctions against Russia over Navalny

Hungary is the only EU state yet to approve the proposed restrictions against nearly 200 more firms and people deemed involved in the war in the bloc's 13th package of sanctions against Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. The EU's top diplomat suggested that Russian prison officials linked to Navalny's death could be added to the list of those subjected to asset freezes and travel bans.

European Union countries including Germany called on Monday for new sanctions on Moscow over the death of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, as they discussed a package of fresh penalties to mark two years of Russia's war on Ukraine. Hungary is the only EU state yet to approve the proposed restrictions against nearly 200 more firms and people deemed involved in the war in the bloc's 13th package of sanctions against Russia since Moscow invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.

The EU's top diplomat suggested that Russian prison officials linked to Navalny's death could be added to the list of those subjected to asset freezes and travel bans. There was no immediate word of any more hard-hitting measures that could target Russia's broader economy and an EU diplomat said so far it seemed any specific new sanctions related to Navalny's death would be "symbolic" and come later.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said she hoped the 27-nation EU would agree on the 13th package of sanctions soon. EU officials say that could happen on Wednesday if Budapest gives its green light. "We have seen the brutal force with which the Russian president represses his own citizens who take to the streets to demonstrate for freedom or write about it in newspapers," she said. "We will propose new sanctions in light of the death of Alexei Navalny."

Navalny died in an Arctic prison a week before the two-year mark of Moscow's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The bloc's top diplomat said he expected EU countries to seek targeted sanctions against certain Russian officials over the death of the Kremlin nemesis, a 47-year-old former lawyer who built his profile on fighting state corruption in Russia.

"(EU) member states will propose sanctions for sure against those responsible," said the bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell who chaired Monday's talks among EU foreign ministers in Brussels. "The great responsible (person) is Putin himself." "We can go down the institutional structure of the penitentiary system in Russia," he said indicating whom the bloc might sanction next. "But don't forget who is really responsible for Navalny's death."

Sweden and Lithuania were also among those calling for sanctions. Navalny's widow, Yulia Navalnaya, attended the Brussels meeting. She said separately on Monday that she would continue her late husband's fight, and called on supporters to battle President Vladimir Putin more than ever.

TARGETED SANCTIONS Navalny collapsed after a walk at the "Polar Wolf" penal colony, Russian authorities said, where he was serving a three-decade sentence following years of persecution that included poisoning with a nerve agent in Siberia in 2020.

Hungary has yet to back the new sanctions against Moscow proposed before Navalny's death and has not commented since. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has said he is "proud" about his Russia contacts, has stalled previous rounds of sanctions, as well as EU agreements on financial assistance to Kyiv. Such moves require unanimous backing of all EU states.

The EU says it has cut Russia trade by some 135 billion euros since the invasion through military, energy, aviation, transport and financial sanctions, among others. While Orban is the leading critic of the EU's support to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia, some others in the bloc have questioned whether trade cuts are effective since they have not forced Moscow to change tack so far.

Ministers are also due to discuss military support for Ukraine at a time the United States is struggling to agree on more aid to Kyiv, and as Russia has claimed its biggest battlefield victory in months. Many in Europe also feel increasingly worried about the possible return to power of former U.S. President Donald Trump, who has been dismissive of NATO.

"If Ukraine falls... we will be next. Putin has no intention to stop, he wouldn't be able to stop," Lithuania's Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said. (Additional reporting by Bart Meijer, Piotr Lipinski and Johan Ahlander, Writing by Gabriela Baczynska, Editing by Gareth Jones and Philippa Fletcher)