Page 34 - RusRPTFeb19

2.10 Politics - misc
The European Union has extended the sanctions against Russia at the European Council summit, as announced on December 13 by the European Council President Donald Tusk, who drew attention to "zero progress on realisation of the Minsk agreements," referring to the peace settlement deal for Russia’s proxy war with Ukraine in the eastern Donbas region.An unnamed German official told Reuters ahead of the summit that there was is no consensus in the European Union on imposing new sanctions against Russia following a naval clash between Russian and Ukrainian ships on the Sea of Azov on November 25, as Moscow continues to resist the calls to release three Ukrainian ships seized last month.
The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Bureau has changed its rules that have resulted in a downgrading of Ukraine’s influence in the European body on January 21, ahead of a vote to withdraw sanctions on Russia. The changes are a victory for Russia as Ukraine’s ability to influence PACE and prevent it from removing sanctions on Russia have been diminished.
The US Senate voted late on January 14 to block a plan by the US Treasury Department (USTD) to lift a round of sanctions imposed last April on the aluminium companies of Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska. The decision was passed with 57 votes for and 42 against, after Democratic Party leader Chuck Schumer persuaded 11 Republicans to cross the line and support his bill. The document must also be approved by the House of Representatives and signed by the president before becoming law.
US Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell is warning German companies that they risk sanctions from Washington if they support construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline. Germany’s Bild newspaper printed a text of a letter sent to Germany companies where the Ambassador warns “if European gas supplies through Ukraine become redundant due to the launch of Nord Stream 2 and the Turkish stream, Kyiv will lose its importance in the field of security policy, which will increase the risk of intervention by Russia.” Nord Stream 2 A.G. says one third of the 1,200 km pipeline has been laid.
On December 19 the State Duma, the lower chamber of parliament, adopted amendments to the criminal code article that represses “the provocation to hatred or enmity” and “offence to human dignity.” The amendments partially decriminalise the code’s Article 282, which has been widely used for such offences involving social media content. As reported by online publication Meduza, first-time offenders will now face only misdemeanour charges, risking a RUB20,000 fine ($287 at the current exchange rate) or a 15-day jail sentence, instead of felony charges and a prison sentence. However, repeated violations within a 12-month period can still lead to a felony charge.
A draft law on support of independent operation of the Russian segment of the Internet in case of disconnection from the global web infrastructure was presented to the State Duma on december 14. Development of the infrastructure is provided, which will make possible "to ensure operability of Russian Internet resources in case Russian communication operators are unable to connect to foreign root servers of the Internet," according to the explanatory note available with TASS. The draft law determines necessary rules of traffic routing. The bill also stipulates
34 RUSSIA Country Report February 2019 www.intellinews.com