Lawmakers from EU member states told Sputnik that the European Union should refrain from imposing yet another round of sanctions on Russia and lift all previously introduced restrictive measures after media reports indicated that the bloc had been mulling new restrictions
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th February, 2019) Lawmakers from EU member states told Sputnik that the European Union should refrain from imposing yet another round of sanctions on Russia and lift all previously introduced restrictive measures after media reports indicated that the bloc had been mulling new restrictions.
On Tuesday, the Financial Times reported that the United States and the European Union had been negotiating and were close to reaching an agreement on imposing new economic sanctions against Russia for its alleged aggression toward Ukraine in the Sea of Azov in late November. The new measures are expected to be discussed at a meeting of EU foreign ministers next Monday and could be imposed within the next two months. The new restrictions will affect individuals and legal entities that were directly linked to the incident.
On November 25, Ukraine's Berdyansk and Nikopol gunboats and the Yany Kapu tugboat illegally crossed the Russian maritime border as they sailed toward the Kerch Strait, the entrance to the Sea of Azov. Russia seized the Ukrainian vessels and detained 24 people on board after they failed to respond to a demand to stop. After the incident, a criminal case on illegal border crossing was opened in Russia.
Moscow has repeatedly slammed Kiev's attempts to portray the detained sailors as prisoners of war, stressing that they faced criminal charges. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the incident was a provocation prepared in advance as a pretext to declare martial law, which was announced after the incident and lasted for a month. Putin noted that the provocation could be linked to Ukrainian leader Petro Poroshenko's low approval ratings ahead of the presidential election, set to be held in March.
SANCTIONS OF WESTERN COUNTRIES AIMED AT 'UNFAIR COMPETITION'
Gianmatteo Ferrari, a member of Italy's Lega party, told Sputnik that the plans to impose sanctions on Russia over the pretext of the Kerch Strait incident are an attempt to unfairly compete with Russian business on the global market.
"We know very well that 'the Kerch Strait accident' is not an accident at all, but has been created to have a new excuse to impose new sanctions against Russia. This is madness ... It is clear that sanctions are being made to make unfair competition between Russian companies and those in the United States and the European Union ... The United States uses the weapon of sanctions to ensure that Russian companies cannot compete with them," Ferrari said.
The lawmaker from Italy's right-wing party underlined that the new restrictive measures against Russia may hurt the Italian economy even more.
"We must cooperate with Russia. We are friends of the Russian people. It is no longer possible to continue with sanctions. What, however, to Italy, have cost tens of billions of Euros," Ferrari added.
ANTI-RUSSIA MEASURES UNDERMINE STABILITY IN EUROPE
Dr. Roland Hartwig, the vice-chairman of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party's parliamentary group in the Bundestag, told Sputnik that the possible sanctions would not positively contribute to the German-Russian relations as well as stability in the European region in general.
"We strongly oppose any new economic sanctions to be imposed on Russia. In addition we urge the German government and the European Union to put all other economic sanctions to an end ... We firmly believe that any long-lasting stability in Europe can only be achieved with and not without Russia. The economic and cultural relationships between Russia and Germany should be enlarged and not diminished," Hartwig said.
The German lawmaker urged Berlin and Brussels to act "more independently" from Washington and stick to its own political agenda.
Moreover, the new restrictions on Russia will hurt "economies and people in both countries," according to Hartwig.
