BRUSSELS (RIA Novosti): The permanent representatives of the European Union member states at a committee meeting (COREPER) on Wednesday agreed to extend personal sanctions for the proliferation and use of chemical weapons by one year, a source in the EU told RIA Novosti.
The final approval of the decision will take place on October 11, the source said.
“The clause on the ext-ension of the sanctions has been agreed, the final appr-oval is expected on October 11 at a face-to-face meeting of the EU Coun-cil,” a source told RIA Novosti.
The European Union last extended these sanctions for a year on October 12 last year – until October 16, 2021.
The extension of the sanctions will take effect after publication in the official EU journal no later than October 16.
The Chemical Weapons Sanctions Framework was introduced by the European Union in 2018. It provides for the introduction of restrictive measures against individuals and organizations that the EU considers involved in the development or use of chemical weapons, those who provide financial, technical or material assistance, and advise these individuals and organizations.
Inclusion in the EU sanctions list means a ban on entry to the EU territory, freezing of assets on the territory of the Union. Citizens and organizations in the EU are prohibited from transferring funds to those on the list.
The sanctions list for chemical weapons currently includes fifteen individuals (five are associated with the Syrian authorities, four are believed to be involved in the use of a poisonous substance against Sergei and Yulia Skripal in 2018, six more defendants in the EU are considered related to the incident with Alexei Navalny) and two organizations (Syrian and Russian).
The Russian side has repeatedly denied its involvement in the incidents with the Skripals and Navalny, called these incidents a planned provocation aimed at discrediting Russia, and also pointed out the absence of any evidence of the guilt of the Russian Federation.