BRUSSELS. Sept 18 (Interfax) - The European Union's Foreign Affairs Council will hold a hearing on Monday regarding relations with Russia in light of the alleged poisoning of Russian opposition activist Alexei Navalny, as Germany has called it, a high-ranking EU official told reporters in Brussels on the condition of anonymity.
In October, there will be a broad discussion on relations with Russia, the official told the media, talking about the agenda of the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting due to take place on September 21.
The meeting attendees will talk particularly about what the things that have happened to Navalny mean for Russia and EU-Russia relations, the source said.
In reply to a question about possible anti-Russian sanctions over the so-called Navalny incident, the source noted that apart from restrictive measures applying to individual countries, the EU has an option of horizontal thematic sanctions regimes affecting all nations. In this case, it could be sanctions for the use of prohibited chemical weapons. The EU will be based on an OPCW expert opinion, the official said.
When asked about the probability of an introduction of a package of sanctions similar to the Magnitsky Act, the source told reporters that for several years, the EU had discussed elaborating sanctions in response to violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The Covid-19 pandemic prompted a pause in the debate, which will resume now, the official said.