European Union foreign ministers on Monday adopted conclusions on imposing sanctions on Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko, as well as imposing sanctions on those responsible for poisoning Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and discussed the Serbia-Kosovo dialogue.
EU Special Representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue Miroslav Lajcak informed the foreign ministers of the latest developments. Lajcak thanked the ministers for the support and the clear link between the dialogue and the European future of Kosovo and Serbia.
Croatia's Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gordan Grlic Radman said that the EU advocates a comprehensive agreement between Serbia and Kosovo and that the “status quo is not an option.” Apart from that he expressed support for Bosnia and Herzegovina's Euro-Atlantic journey.
“On the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Dayton Peace Accord we need to see what the balance is. I think that Bosnia and Herzegovina is seeking support and Croatia strongly supports it on its Euro-Atlantic journey,” Grlic Radman said.
The EU ministers further adopted a German-French motion for sanctions against Russia over its involvement in the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
“We have discussed possible elements of a strong EU common response to the use of a prohibited chemical nerve agent and implement the proposals made by France and Germany about restrictive measures against those linked to the assassination attempt of Russian opposition leader, Alexei Navalny. There has been a political agreement to implement these restrictive measures, that will be done by the technical bodies of the Council,” High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Vice-President Josep Borrell told a press conference after the meeting of the Foreign Affairs Council.
Germany and France have recently proposed the sanctions. A few days ago the German and French foreign ministers issued a joint statement saying Russia has so far failed to provide a credible explanation for the attack “on Russian soil, against a Russian opposition figure, using a military nerve agent developed by Russia.”
“In this context, we consider that there is no other plausible explanation for Mr. Navalny’s poisoning than a Russian involvement and responsibility,” their statement said.
Grlic Radman today expressed concern over the situation in Russia and its influence in Belarus and said that Moscow nevertheless needs to be commended for its cooperative role in defusing the tensions in the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
The foreign ministers also agreed to take further restrictive measures, including against entities and high-ranking officials, including Lukashenko.
