As of today, there are more political prisoners in Russia and Belarus than there were in the Soviet Union during the time of Leonid Brezhnev. Putin disregards the political consequences by allowing or ordering the killing of the Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny during the Munich Security Conference.
This was stated in Brussels after the completion of the EU Foreign Affairs Council, commenting on proposals to impose European sanctions against Russia for the death of the Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny in a Russian prison, said Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski, reports PAP.
"Putin allowed or ordered - we don't know for sure - the killing of Navalny during the Munich security conference. It seems he is not concerned about the political consequences. The situation is becoming really serious," Sikorski said.
According to the Polish minister, together with several other ministers, he supported the call of Navalny's wife, Yulia, who asked the heads of the EU foreign ministries to impose sanctions against Russia for the death of her husband. In his opinion, "there is no time to waste" in this matter. At the same time, he noted that the case is fresh, so some countries need time for reflection.
Sikorski announced that he supports the initiative of the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, to name the European sanctions system against Russia after Navalny.
During the meeting, the head of Polish diplomacy also drew attention to the repressions in Belarus:
"We all remember that the last presidential elections were falsified. We all remember that the wave of repression (in Belarus) is not abating. In proportion to the population, these are worse repressions than during martial law (in Poland). I want to remind you that today in Russia and Belarus there are more political prisoners than in the Soviet Union during the time of Leonid Brezhnev."
Sikorski added that after the falsification of the elections in 2020, Belarus provided its territory to Russia for aggression against Ukraine and allowed Russian nuclear weapons to be deployed there.
