MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 03rd March, 2021) Canada welcomes the new US and EU anti-Russian sanctions over the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny and his detention, Canadian Foreign Minister Marc Garneau said in a statement.
In January, Navalny returned to Moscow from Germany, where he was treated for alleged poisoning, and was arrested upon arrival at Sheremetyevo International Airport. Shortly after, a Moscow court rescinded Navalny's suspended sentence in the 2014 Yves Rocher fraud case over multiple probation breaches and replaced it with a 3.5-year prison term.
"Canada strongly supports the decision made by the United States and the European Union on the adoption of sanctions against Russian officials responsible for the arbitrary detention, prosecution and attempted assassination of Alexey Navalny using a chemical weapon. It is important to note that two of the four individuals targeted by the European Union have already been sanctioned by Canada," Garneau said as quoted by Global Affairs Canada.
"The sanctions announced today by the U.S. and EU are part of an important and incisive diplomatic effort to end impunity for those responsible for gross human rights violations in Russia, including those committed against Mr. Navalny and his supporters in the exercise of their basic democratic rights," he said.
