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Sanctions on Russian lawmakers to boomerang on parliamentary diplomacy in Europe — senator

Federation Council Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev that "there is no longer any irritation or irony about what is going on," but there is only "an impression of complete absurdity of the actions of individuals who claim to be respected politicians"

Russian Federation Council Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev Russian Ministry of Foreign Affaris/TASS

Russian Federation Council Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev

© Russian Ministry of Foreign Affaris/TASS

MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. The European Union’s sanctions, imposed on Russian lawmakers among others, may hit only the parliamentary diplomacy in Europe, but not the members of the Russian Federal Assembly (parliament), Federation Council Deputy Speaker Konstantin Kosachev said on Friday.

"The one thing that the EU sanctions against the Federal Assembly can hit is the both houses’ contact with members of the European Parliament, or in other words, the parliamentary diplomacy in Europe. I will give you one guess who benefits from having the EU-Russia parliamentary diplomacy frozen. In my opinion, those who make decisions on next packages [of sanctions] against Russia should be granted the status of foreign agents in the European Union, as they act blatantly against Europe’s goals for the sake of third forces," the senator wrote on his Telegram channel.

Kosachev said that "there is no longer any irritation or irony about what is going on," but there is only "an impression of complete absurdity of the actions of individuals who claim to be respected politicians."

"Even from the point of view of formal logic: how exactly will Brussels’ bans on a representative of, for example, Sakhalin or Chukotka to visit Amsterdam or Prague affect the course of the special military operation in Ukraine? What exactly do you want to seize from those who does not keep anything with you?" he asked the European officials rhetorically.

The deputy speaker of the upper house of Russia’s parliament recalled that under the current edition of Article 95 of Russia’s Constitution, a citizen of the Russian Federation, who does not have foreign citizenship or residence permit can become a senator in Russia. Russian senators cannot also open and have accounts, keep cash and valuables in foreign banks, located beyond the Russian Federation.

On Friday, the EU Official Journal published a 692-page resolution imposing another package of sanctions on Russia for the violation of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. The European Union included sanctions against 40 MPs and 44 senators, among other measures, in the ninth package of sanctions against Russia.

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