MOSCOW. March 2 (Interfax) - Instead of imposing sanctions on Russia, the European Union should have compelled Germany, France, and Sweden to ensure the transparency of evidence in the case of opposition activist Alexei Navalny, Federation Council Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Konstantin Kosachyov said.
"If the European Union was truly interested in establishing the truth - and that is impossible without conducting a full-scale investigation in Russia - it would have taken efforts not in regard to our country, but in regard to its own members, Germany, France, and Sweden, and would have compelled them to ensure the transparency of evidence. That didn't happen. Therefore, the situation per se is not important to the EU, which has been using it as a mere pretext for defaming the Russian leadership," Kosachyov told Interfax on Tuesday, when commenting on the EU sanctions imposed over Navalny.
"The EU's decision is classic manipulation, tampering with evidence in an uninvestigated case aimed at confirming its own, 'the only correct' theory of the incident," he said.
In Kosachyov's opinion, the "culprits haven't been identified, but arbitrarily designated without regard for the principle of the presumption of innocence."
"This kind of method is unacceptable in international relations. No doubt, Russia will respond," he said.
It is up to the Russian leadership to decide what that response will be, Kosachyov said.