According to Sergey Lavrov, Russian minister of foreign affairs, the country is ready to break off diplomatic relations with the European Union.
As the official noted, Russia knows very well how its counterparts use sanctions to hit its economy.
«We do not want to find ourselves in isolation from the rest of the world, but we believe we have to be prepared for that. ‘If you want peace, prepare for war,’» Lavrov said, quoting the Latin adage.
On February 22, EU’s foreign affairs ministers are going to discuss a new set of sanctions against Russia due to the situation with opposition leader Alexey Navalny. As expected, the EU might use a new mechanism to punish Russia for human rights violations.
In turn, the U.S. Congress is also considering new draft legislation concerning sanctions that might be applied to certain Russian politicians, if they are found guilty in international law violations, including the poisoning and arrest of Alexey Navalny.
The draft document requires American authorities to examine if Russia broke U.S. legislation against chemical and biological weapons as well as to prepare a report on the personal wealth of Vladimir Putin and his attendants.
