Britain, France, and Germany said they will sanction Russia over Alexei Navalny's poisoning. Putin won't care.

https://news.yahoo.com/britain-france-germany-said-sanction-081400986.html

https://www.businessinsider.com/putin-navalny-poisoining-europe-sanctions-unheeded-2020-10

 

Bill Bostock
,Business Insider•October 10, 2020

Three of Europe's largest powers pledged in no uncertain terms earlier this week to sanction Russia over the poisoning of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

France and Germany said in a joint statement, later echoed by the UK, that sanctions "will target individuals deemed responsible for this crime" and "an entity involved in the Novichok program."

Navalny, the top critic of President Vladimir Putin, was poisoned with the Novichok nerve agent on August 20. He spent 48 hours in a Russian hospital before he was permitted to fly to Berlin for specialist care, where he remained until September 22.

In an October 1 interview with Der Spiegel Navalny directly accused Putin of approving the hit.

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"This to me sounds like a move that's more about demonstrating political will than actually having any real impact: something has to be done and here's something we can do," Galeotti said.

The individuals sanctioned by France, Germany, and the UK are "basically going to be people within the security apparatus who are already not looking to buy themselves an agreeable little gîte in France, or keep money in a bank account somewhere in Munich."

"It's not going to influence Putin at all. If corrupt individuals lose out on some assets well, that's their lookout. It's not really going to change the opinions of people in the security apparatus, as they're in too deep," he said.

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