London: Reports that the European Union and the US may impose sanctions on the “cronies” of Russian President Vladimir Putin has reportedly resulted in a power struggle at the Kremlin.
German intelligence is reported to have obtained evidence that hardliners and oligarchs at loggerheads over Western sanctions.
Some reportedly want to “put the brakes” on Mr Putin to rescue their business interests.
Der Spiegel magazine reported on Sunday that the head of Germany’s intelligence service, Gerhard Schindler, had told the Berlin parliament’s foreign affairs committee that cracks were beginning to appear in the united front that Mr Putin’s government was seeking to present to the world, according to reports in the British media.
Mr Schindler was said to have told the committee and Chancellor Angela Merkel as well during his weekly briefing that a struggle had broken out in the Kremlin, with hardliners and oligarchs seeking to exert their influence on Mr Putin.
“According to German intelligence it is quite possible that some of the oligarchs who are worried by European Union sanctions will soon start putting economic interests above political concerns and try to put the brakes on Putin,” Der Spiegel wrote.
Mr Schindler told MPs that unlike at the beginning of the Ukraine crisis, cracks were now beginning to appear in Mr Putin’s power bloc.
The EU and the US are expected to levy more sanctions this week.
Meanwhile, Russia could soon block some fruit imports from the EU and chickens from the United States as Brussels considered slapping tighter sanctions on Moscow over the Ukraine crisis.
An advisor to the chief of Russia’s food and agricultural inspection service Rossel Khoznadzor said oriental fruit moths had been detected in some European imports.
The larvae of the moths feed on the cores and pits of fruit. “Hence, it’s likely that their import into Russia will be restricted,” Alexei Alexeyenko said. He said a decision was likely within days.
