MOSCOW, January 27. /TASS/. The situation involving Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny has cast a shadow of doubt over the very possibility of advancing further cooperation between Russia and the EU, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
The ministry pointed out that 2020 is memorable for a serious throwback in the relations between Russia and the EU, as Brussels pressed on with its sanction policies, "subjecting Russians and businesses to wrongful restrictions."
"[The EU] interfered in domestic affairs of Belarus, our ally. These hostile steps reached its peak with the actions that came in light of the so-called poisoning of Alexey Navalny which cast doubt on the very opportunity of advancing further cooperation with the EU," the ministry underlined.
Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, who was twice found guilty of embezzlement, was earlier placed on the wanted list for violating the conditions of his probation period imposed as part of the suspended sentence in the Yves Rocher case. Navalny was detained on January 10 in Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport where he arrived from Berlin. The Khimki Court in Moscow officially arrested him for 30 days until February 15. On February 2, the court will decide whether to replace his suspended sentence with prison time.