Russia accuses Germany of blocking the investigation into the Navalny case.
Foreign Minister Maas speaks about a possible stop of Nord Stream 2.
According to the federal government, the Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent.
But Russia is now accusing Germany of delaying the investigation of the attack.
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas first brings a possible stop of the Nord Stream 2 project into play.
After the
Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny
suddenly fell into a coma on a flight in his home country on August 20, he was admitted to the
Berlin Charité
at the insistence of his family
.
A
Bundeswehr
laboratory was
able to detect a nerve agent in his blood.
The federal government regards the fact that Navalny was poisoned to be "beyond any doubt" proven.
"He should be silenced," said
Angela Merkel
.
According to the
Charité
,
Nawalny's
health is still serious.
The symptoms of the proven poisoning are declining, but artificial ventilation in the intensive care unit is still necessary.
Doctors expect the disease to last longer and cannot rule out long-term consequences of the severe poisoning.
The
federal government
calls on Russia to investigate the poison attack.
There are "very serious questions" in the room that only the Russian government can and must clarify, said
Merkel
* in an unusually clear statement.
It also expressed her personal concern.
The crime against
Navalny is
directed "against the fundamental values and rights for which we stand," she said.
"The world will wait for answers."
The
Foreign Office
appointed the Russian Ambassador Sergei Netschajew to call on Russia to undertake a full investigation “with full transparency”.
Russia
must identify those responsible and hold them accountable, said
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas
(SPD).
Navalny case: Greens and FDP bring the end of Nord Stream 2 into discussion
Numerous western states have
expelled
Russian diplomats
.
The Federal Government has spoken out in favor of coordinated action by the Western allies.
Merkel and Maas
said that an "appropriate" response had to be found.
How this turns out, "we will also decide in the light of how Russia behaves," said
Maas
.
Merkel also spoke about the matter
with
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
- which makes it clear how important she is.
The federal government also informed the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OVCW) about the laboratory findings.
Russia
has also
acceded to the
Convention for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
.
Against the background of the Nawalny case, more and more politicians are calling for the
Nord Stream 2
project to be stopped
.
"The apparent attempted murder by the mafia-like structures of the Kremlin can no longer just worry us, it must have real consequences," said Green parliamentary leader
Katrin Göring-Eckardt
.
Merkel said on Tuesday that she wanted to complete the project.
FDP party leader
Christian Lindner
said in the
ARD “Morgenmagazin”
: “A regime that organizes poisonous murders * is not a partner for large cooperation projects - not even for pipeline projects.”
“So far, I have been in favor of continuing # Nordstream2 despite some concerns.
But after the poison attack on #Nawalny #Europe has to react.
I propose a two-year construction freeze, i.e. a #moratorium.
#Putin unfortunately only understands this language. ”(Tm) https://t.co/N9kdk81oKI
- Friedrich Merz (@_FriedrichMerz) September 4, 2020
The
Eastern Committee
of German Business spoke out against the cancellation of the
Nord Stream 2
natural gas project
.
"
To react to
the poisoning of
Navalny
with further economic sanctions, which would then again affect completely uninvolved companies and the Russian population, is wrong," said the chairman of the Eastern Committee, Oliver Hermes.
The head of the
Munich Security Conference
, Wolfgang Ischinger, also warned of a boycott of Russia.
“We need
Russia
in climate policy, in
Ukraine policy
, in many other areas.
We cannot now, so to speak, put up a wall between the West and Russia, ”he said in the
ARD“ Morgenmagazin ”
.
Nawalni case: Foreign Minister Maaß threatens for the first time with the end of Nord Stream 2
Even
Foreign Minister Heiko Maas
has for the first time about a possible stop of
Nord Stream 2
spoken.
"If there are
no contributions
on the
Russian side
in the next few days
, we will have to discuss an answer with our partners," writes
Maas on
Twitter.
The
picture on Sunday
said Maas: "In any case, I do not hope that the
Russians
will force us
to change
our stance on
Nord Stream 2.
" The Navalny * case is such a drastic violation of the international
chemical weapons agreement
that it is not without one noticeable reaction could remain.
If there are no contributions on the Russian side to investigate the attack on Mr #Nawalny in the next few days, we will have to discuss an answer with our partners.
The attack is a serious violation of international law.
https://t.co/OJrGJMH0U3
- Heiko Maas 🇪🇺 (@HeikoMaas) September 6, 2020
Maas
emphasized, however, that stopping the almost completed
pipeline
would also damage German and European companies: “Anyone who demands this must be aware of the consequences.
More than 100 companies from twelve European countries are involved
in
Nord Stream 2
, around half of them from Germany. ”Narrowing the debate to
Nord Stream 2
alone
would not do justice to the case, warned the
minister
.
Rather, he called on Russian President
Vladimir Putin
to clarify again: "We have high expectations of the Russian government that they will solve this serious crime,"
Maas
told
the
BamS
.
"If you have nothing to do with the attack, then it is in your own interest to prove it with facts,"
Maas
told
the BamS.
Navalny case: Russia accuses Germany of delaying the investigation
Russia
is now accusing Germany of
blocking
the investigation of the poison attack on
Nawanly
.
“Berlin is delaying the investigation that it itself is calling for.
On purpose? ”Said the spokeswoman for the
Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Sakharova
, on the Facebook online service on Sunday.
Because
Berlin did not respond
to a request for legal assistance from the
Russian public prosecutor's office
on August 27.
"Dear Mr.
Maas
, if the
German government
is serious about what you have said, it should be interested in responding to a request from the
Russian Public Prosecutor's Office
as soon as possible,
" the spokeswoman said, adding: "We haven't been so far sure that
Germany is
not playing a double game ”.
The Berlin judicial authorities had confirmed receipt of the request for legal assistance from the Russian judiciary on Friday.
*
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