‘They are merciless’: EU raises threat of sanctions on Russia

The European Union’s top diplomat has said Russia’s government was increasingly authoritarian and showed no tolerance of democratic rule of law, warning that a new round of sanctions was a possibility.

“They are merciless,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell told the European Parliament on Tuesday, after making a rare visit to Moscow last week to plead for the release of Kremlin critic Alexey Navalny.