West arsenal of anti-Russia restrictions running out: Kremlin
3 Min Read
Russia underlines how the European Union and the United States are running out of sanctions to impose on Russia in light of the Ukraine war.
-
Russian Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov
The European Union and the United States are competing against each other in taking unfriendly measures against Russia, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday.
The 27-nation bloc and Washington are both running out of restrictions to impose on Russia, which is why they are making "unreasonable decisions", Peskov stressed.
"They are literally competing with each other in taking various anti-Russian and unfriendly measures towards us," Peskov told reporters.
"We [...] see that they are running out of an arsenal of some measures that - as they see it - are capable of putting pressure on us and forcing us to change our position, which is an erroneous judgment, and more and more irrational, unreasonable, and difficult to explain decisions made," he underlined.
Jewish Agency case legal issue
The case of the Jewish Agency for "Israel" (Sokhnut) in Russia is an issue of a legal dimension, and it should not be politicized, Peskov underscored.
"There are questions from the point of view of compliance with Russian legislation to Sokhnut, and there is no need to politicize this situation and project this situation onto the entire range of Russian-Israeli relations," he told reporters.
His statements come a day after Israeli media reported that tensions are on the rise between "Tel Aviv" and Moscow over Russia's closure of the Jewish Agency for "Israel's" work in the country.
A Moscow court said last week that the justice ministry had requested the "dissolution" of the Jewish Agency for legal violations that were not specified, setting a hearing on July 28.
Just hours earlier, the Israeli occupation's Ambassador to Moscow met with the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister and asked for updates on the Russian Justice Ministry's probe into the Jewish Agency, Israeli newspaper Walla! reported last Wednesday.
Relations between "Israel" and Russia have witnessed tension in recent months, as the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned the Israeli ambassador to Russia, Alexander Ben Zvi, over a statement by Yair Lapid when he was foreign minister in April, when he condemned Russia's practices in Ukraine, describing them as "war crimes".
Promoting and facilitating "aliyah" from Jewish communities across the world is one of the primary objectives of the Jewish Agency. If it cannot operate there, it will be the first time in the last 30 years that "aliyah" attempts have been prohibited in Russia.
Schengen visa denial to Russians to prompt extremely negative response
Spokesperson Peskov went on to touch on the issue of the Schengen region denying visas to Russians, underlining that this would prompt Moscow to take retaliatory measures.
"Of course, Russia will react extremely negatively to this. As far as we understand, so far, this decision has not found any, let's say, application ... Let's hope that it will not," he told reporters.
"But, of course, any such actions against Russian citizens will entail countermeasures and response. It is quite understandable and predictable," he added.
He also stressed that Moscow hoped the EU leadership uses reasoning and "sober thinking" regarding the issuing of Schengen visas to Russians.
The Schengen Area is an area comprising 26 European countries, namely Austria, Hungary, Norway, Belgium, Iceland, Poland, Czech Republic, Italy, Portugal, Denmark, Latvia, Slovakia, Estonia, Liechtenstein, Slovenia, Finland, Lithuania, Spain, France, Luxembourg, Sweden, Germany, Malta, Switzerland, Greece, and the Netherlands.
