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Anti-Russian sanctions

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EU imposes sanctions on Russian Chess Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin

Karjakin, 34, won the Chess World Cup in 2015. He is also a former world champion in Rapid Chess (2012) and Blitz (2016)

BRUSSELS, February 24. /TASS/. The European Union has decided to impose individual sanctions against Russian Chess Grandmaster Sergey Karjakin, according to an EU statement released on Monday.

The sanctions have been imposed based on the fact that Sergey Karjakin "supported the Russian special military operation and had allegedly spoken against the Ukrainian territorial integrity and independence."

Karjakin, 34, won the Chess World Cup in 2015. He is also a former world champion in Rapid Chess (2012) and Blitz (2016). In 2016 he won the FIDE Candidates tournament and later that year lost to Norwegian Chess Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen in his battle for the World Chess Crown.

Earlier in the day, the European Union (EU) unveiled a new package of sanctions against Russia, imposing new restrictions on a number of Russian banks, media outlets, and naval vessels.

The EU’s move follows recent progress in the restoration of Russia-US relations after a meeting of high-ranking Russian and American officials in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, earlier in the month.

The Russian and US delegations held negotiations in Riyadh in Saudi Arabia on February 18 that lasted about four and a half hours. Russia was represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov, and CEO of the Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) Kirill Dmitriev.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, National Security Adviser Mike Waltz, and Special Envoy for the Middle East Steve Witkoff participated in the discussions on behalf of the United States.

FIDE’s previous ban on Karjakin

On February 28, 2022, Karjakin published an open letter in which he supported Russia’s special military operation in Ukraine. The next day, FIDE (the World Chess Federation) condemned the Russian grandmaster for the public announcement of his political stance, launching a disciplinary case against him.

On March 21, 2022 the International Chess Federation (FIDE) stated that its Ethics and Disciplinary Commission (EDC) decided to suspend Russian Chess Grandmaster Karjakin from all competitions for a period of six months.

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