MOSCOW, January 18. /TASS/. The European Union’s new rules of imposing sanctions on those it regards responsible for the production and use of chemical weapons may rely on biased and classified data, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told a news conference in Moscow on Friday.
"Such unlawful actions running counter to the Chemical Weapons Convention are being legalized not through negotiations, but by means of voting and dictating decisions that contradict the law. The European Union’s decision in question is one of them. First, confrontational actions in the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons created certain rules that contradict international law. Then information will begin to be obtained on the basis of these rules. There is a risk that the information will be biased or classified. On the basis of these secret decisions and information certain persons will begin to be punished," he said.
The EU Council on October 15, 2018 approved new rules of taking chemical weapons-related sanctions. The EU will be able to impose restrictions on individuals and companies involved in the development and use of chemical weapons around the world, regardless of their nationality or whereabouts. The measures will be applied to persons and companies directly responsible for developing and using chemical weapons, providing financial, technical or material support for persons who have used chemical weapons or who assist, collaborate or are associated with them.
The development of a new mechanism of sanctions was launched under the June 2018 EU summit’s decision, which declared the need for new rules of taking restrictive measures against the proliferation of chemical weapons. The decision followed the next day after an emergency session of the OPCW in the Hague, convened at the initiative of Britain and the United States over the Skripal affair, and also allegations government forces in Syria had used chemical weapons.