European Commission "very confident" sanctions against Kremlin spokesman Peskov's wife are justified

The European Union has said it considers all individual sanctions it has imposed, including those against Tatiana Navka, the wife of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, to be justified and well-founded.

Source: Anouar El Anouni, spokesperson for the European Commission, in a comment to journalists, as reported by European Pravda's correspondent in Brussels

Details: The EU considers that Navka, Peskov's wife, deserves to be sanctioned.

"Yes, short answer, very, in terms of how confident we are," El Anouni said in response to a journalist's question about Navka, who is challenging the EU sanctions against her.

El Anouni said that for individuals or organisations to be sanctioned by the European Union, there must be "enough proof to back up the sanctioning, since the EU sanctions are a legal decision that can be taken to the EU court".

Quote: "Now, in terms of the person that you have mentioned – and all this information is public – so this is why I'm allowing myself to here recall it from this stage. Tatiana Nevka is a co-owner of companies and property located in, inter alia, the Crimean peninsula, which, as you all know, was illegally annexed by the Russian Federation. She is therefore supporting actions which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine."

In addition, Navka is "associated with a listed person who has actively supported actions or policies which undermine or threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine, as well as stability and security in Ukraine".

"I hope that this gives you more than a word in terms of how confident we are," El Anouni concluded.

Background:

• Tatiana Navka, the wife of Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov and an Olympic figure skating champion, applied to court to challenge sanctions imposed on her by the European Union.
• The EU added Navka to its sanctions list in June 2022. Peskov's daughter, Elizaveta, and son, Nikolai, were included on the same list.
• In September 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) refused to lift European sanctions against Russian oligarchs Gennady Timchenko and his wife Elena, Mikhail Fridman, Petr Aven and German Khan.
• In April of the same year, the CJEU annulled the EU Council's decision of 28 February 2022 to impose sanctions against Aven and Fridman. The court found that the basis for including the Russian oligarchs on the sanctions list was insufficiently substantiated.
• Aven and Fridman are shareholders in Alfa Group, of which Alfa Bank, one of Russia's largest banks, is a part. Aven also holds Latvian citizenship and has resided in Latvia with his family since the beginning of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Read more: EU lost in court to Russian oligarchs. What does it mean for the future of sanctions?

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