After the introduction of sanctions on Belarus due to the incident with the Ryanair aircraft, the EU should consider further sanctions against Russia, said the head of the European Parliament David Maria Sassoli in an interview.

“We must tighten sanctions against Russian officials, but also establish closer contacts with the population and civil society and support Russian dissidents, non-governmental organizations and independent media,” he said.

The head of the European Parliament also noted that the EU and Russia now have very tense relations.