Several European foreign ministers called Monday for the EU to sanction oligarchs involved in “destabilization attempts” in Moldova and Georgia, amid rising fears of Russian interference, POLITICO reports.
"These two countries are facing destabilization attempts which require our greatest vigilance, and might justify that we start considering to target those responsible for these attempts," POLITICO quotes French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna.
POLITICO reports that both her Romanian and Estonian counterparts also called on the bloc to sanction pro-Russian oligarchs in Moldova.
The agency writes that thousands of people demonstrated in Tbilisi two weeks ago to protest against a controversial “foreign agents” bill, which Georgia’s president said was dictated by Moscow.
"The ruling Georgian Dream party voted the bill down three days later — but a growing number of Georgians fear their government is moving closer to Moscow under the party, which has been in power since 2012. The party’s founder, ex-Prime Minister Bidzina Ivanishvili, has close ties to Russia, where he built his fortune in the 1990s," POLITICO says.
