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Poisoned Navalny: Merkel and Maas threaten Putin - "I don't hope the Russians force us ..."

2020-09-07T11:51:54.282Z


Escalation in the Navalny case: Even Chancellor Angela Merkel is no longer ruling out a construction freeze on Nord Stream 2. Is Russian President Putin now bowing to the pressure?


Escalation in the Navalny case: Even Chancellor Angela Merkel is no longer ruling out a construction freeze on Nord Stream 2.

Is Russian President Putin now bowing to the pressure?

  • Chancellor

    Angela Merkel (CDU)

    is

    no longer

    ruling out the

    consequences of the

    Nord Stream 2

    project

    because of the Navalny case

    .

  • Federal Foreign Minister

    Heiko Maas (SPD)

    had previously

    threatened

    consequences for Russia in the project of the

    Baltic Sea pipeline

    .

  • The

    German government

    assumes that

    Putin critic

    Alexej Navalny was

    poisoned

    in

    Russia

    .

Berlin - After the

poison attack

on the Kremlin critic

Alexej Navalny *,

various members of the political establishment are calling for

the

construction of the Baltic Sea pipeline Nord Stream 2 * to be stopped or suspended

as a consequence for Russian President

Vladimir Putin

.

Chancellor

Angela Merkel (CDU) *

has now

considered stopping the project for the first time.

Merkel "joined" the corresponding statements made by

Federal Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) over

the weekend, government

spokesman Steffen Seibert

told journalists in Berlin.

The

Chancellor *

was of the opinion that "it would be wrong to exclude something".

You have not yet

spoken

to Putin about the

Navalny * case

, Seibert said, according to

focus.de

.

The

Nord Stream 2

pipeline

is being built through the Baltic Sea and is intended to transport natural gas from Russia to Germany.

Maas had hinted: "I do not hope that the Russians will force us

to change

our stance on

Nord Stream 2.

" Merkel is working with Maas "on this important issue", said Seibert.

The federal government has the "clear expectation" that

Moscow will

declare

itself

on the

Navalny case

.

Russia denies being involved in the poisoning of the opposition party.

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

Navalny case: Chancellor Angela Merkel describes Russian opposition activists as "victims of a crime"

“Alexei Navalny is the

victim of a crime

.

He should be silenced, and I condemn that too on behalf of the entire federal government to the strongest possible terms, "Merkel declared. The

federal government

had a special laboratory of the Armed Forces informed by studies that they as it

undoubtedly

look proven that Navalny with the military

neurotoxin Novichok

had been poisoned.

As far as the stand of Nord Stream 2 is concerned,

tens of thousands of

concrete-coated

pipe sections

are already lying

on the floor of the Baltic Sea, each weighing a good

24 tons

.

Welded together, they form the two strands of the gas pipeline, which is around

1,230 kilometers in

length

.

Most of the route runs parallel to the existing Nord Stream pipeline.

+

Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU)

© Michael Sohn / AP-Pool / dpa

Nord Stream 2: Trump administration wants to prevent construction - critics accuse USA of export interests

The starting point is the Russian Baltic coast west of

St. Petersburg

, the destination is Lubmin not far from

Greifswald

.

The huge double tube is not yet finished - resistance from the

USA has

delayed its completion so far.

The administration under

US President Donald Trump *

imposed

sanctions in

late 2019

to prevent completion of the pipeline.

In mid-July, the US government threatened further sanctions.

The US argue that Germany and Europe would become

energy-dependent

on Moscow.

Critics accuse the USA of only

wanting to

export

its own

liquefied gas

at the highest possible prices

.

At a higher level, Europe's concern about being too

dependent

on Russian natural gas also plays a role.

The country currently covers almost

a third of

the EU's needs.

The EU wants to reduce its dependence.

This could

two Nord Stream

but contrary, the

EU Commission

is therefore against the building.

(frs with material from AFP)

* Merkur.de belongs to the Ippen digital editorial network.

List of rubric lists: © Michael Sohn / AP-Pool / dpa

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-09-07

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