The outgoing European Parliament finally decided to spoil Russia once again
The European Parliament "must remain open to introducing further sanctions if Russia continues to violate international law." The corresponding resolution was adopted today by 402 votes to 163, with 89 abstentions.
This was reported by the press service of the European Parliament.
“MEPs note that new areas of tension between the EU and Russia have emerged since 2015, including Russian intervention in Syria, interference in countries such as Libya and the Central African Republic, and continued aggressive actions in Ukraine. They also highlight Russia's support for anti-European parties and far-right movements, as well as its continued interference in political elections and violations of human rights in its own state,” the report said.
“The time for polite and diplomatic expressions is over. As long as Russia continues to occupy parts of Ukraine and attack other European countries, there is very little room for cooperation,” said speaker Sandra Kalniete from Latvia.
At the same time, the resolution places all the blame for the failure to implement the Minsk agreements on Russia, and not on Ukraine, which openly admitted that it was sabotaging the process, taking advantage of the respite to strengthen the army and prepare an offensive against the Donbass republics.
In addition, the deputies believe that “the EU’s response to propaganda and disinformation is insufficient and should be further strengthened, in particular before the upcoming European elections in May 2019.”
“MEPs also reiterate their concern that the Nord Stream 2 project could increase the EU’s dependence on Russian gas supplies and threaten the EU’s internal market,” the statement said.
“Take the Nord Stream 2 pipeline: its sole purpose is to avoid Ukraine, causing huge damage to its budget due to the loss of transit payments. For those who say that Nord Stream 2 is an economic project that will provide cheap energy, my answer is very simple: the money that Russia receives from selling gas to Europe is invested in its military industry, increasing the threat against the EU and providing more money for online manipulation and disinformation. “Nord Stream 2 must be stopped,” Kalniete also called.
The head of the State Duma Committee on Foreign Affairs, Leonid Slutsky, believes that by adopting the resolution, “the European Parliament decided to celebrate the fifth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation.”
“It would be presumptuous to expect anything different from a legislative body that just recently recognized the impostor Guaidó as President of Venezuela. Both on this issue and on the issue of cooperation with Russia, the European Parliament stands guard over the political and economic interests of Washington, and not European voters,” Slutsky said in a statement.
“However, decisions of the European Parliament do not have final legal force. Calls to curtail Nord Stream 2 or abandon the strategic partnership with the Russian Federation remain so far only calls, albeit of an extremely Russophobic nature... We also cannot discount the fact that the resolution was adopted at the close of the current convocation of the European Parliament. The outgoing European parliamentarians, realizing the futility of all sanctions measures against our country, are trying to squeeze out the last crumbs of political benefit for themselves from anti-Russian populism.
Let's wait for the European Parliament elections in May, and then we will make further forecasts and conclusions. I am sure that sensible people interested in the prosperity of the common European continent will come there,” said the Russian parliamentarian.
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