Russia denounces EU sanctions on private security firm Wagner
Russia has denounced European Union (EU) sanctions against private Russian security company Wagner, saying the bloc ignores the sovereignty of the nations where contractors from the group are present.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry said "private military companies are not under the control of official Russian authorities." It added that independent countries "assessing their own security capabilities" have the right to work with such companies.
"The hysteria unrolled in the West on this topic shows, first of all, the jealousy of some European cities and states towards Africa and the Middle East, whose sovereignty and independence they were once forced to recognize," the statement read.
"The European Union casts doubt on the sovereign right of these UN member states to build an independent and domestic foreign policy," the ministry said.
"Russia reserves the right to respond to the unfriendly actions of the EU," it said.
On Monday, European foreign ministers, under pressure by France, imposed restrictive measures against a number of individuals and entities from Russia allegedly connected to the private military group and actions in Ukraine and parts of Africa.
European diplomats said the list would be a warning to countries tempted to hire Wagner units.
The 27-member bloc accuses the Russian group of recruiting and sending private military operatives to conflict zones around the world. France claims that Wagner's inroads into Libya, Mali, and the Central African Republic have had a destabilizing effect.
The Russian government denies any link to the group, which has been compared to similar US private military outfits, such as the notorious entity formerly called Blackwater.
Separately, a German government source said on Tuesday that the EU had been in talks with the United States and Britain about possible financial sanctions on Russia in the case of an offensive on Ukraine. The summit will send a warning to Russia over its military build-up on the border, the source said.
"We want to send a clear signal to Moscow that any violation of the border will not be accepted," the source said ahead of an EU summit this week.
The US has also blacklisted dozens of Russian individuals and companies over what Washington alleges are Russia's interference in Ukraine and meddling in the 2016 US presidential election.
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