Escalation in the Navalny case: Even Chancellor Angela Merkel is no longer ruling out a construction freeze on Nord Stream 2.
The Putin critic is no longer in an artificial coma.
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
doctors treating
Andrej Nawalny
at the
Berlin Charité
have
meanwhile ended
his
artificial coma
.
Update from September 8, 7:50 p.m.:
Details from the parliamentary group meeting of the
CDU / CSU
around Chancellor
Merkel
on the
Navalny
case had
already
leaked.
From this it became clear that Berlin is keeping all possible sanctions open.
Now more details leaked out.
which above all make the Chancellor's view of the events clear.
According to picture information, Merkel called the poisoning of Navalny a
"dismaying process"
.
The Chancellor is also reported to have added that Russia “is not making this type of attack for the first time”.
She is said to have referred to the Skripal case.
Merkel therefore called on her Union colleagues to “not overlook the incident so quickly”.
According to the report, CDU boss
Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer
agreed
.
She was appalled by the Russian allegations that Germany had poisoned Navalny.
Then AKK is said to have shown determination: On the German side, they are
“very sure”
that they have submitted the right analyzes.
Now Russia, not Germany, has to provide evidence in the case.
"Patient Navalny": Internal Merkel assessment leaked - Kremlin sees "dirty fuss"
Update from September 8, 3:20 p.m.:
Chancellor
Angela Merkel
(CDU) has
left open
a stop on the controversial Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline in response to the poisoning of Russian government
critic Alexej Navalny
.
"I have not yet made a final judgment," said Merkel on Tuesday, as the
dpa
claims to have learned from several participants in the first meeting of the Union parliamentary group after the summer break in Berlin.
The Chancellor once again called for a European response to the events surrounding Navalny.
It has been proven beyond doubt that he was poisoned - the Chancellor spoke of the
"patient Navalny".
However,
Russia
is now also sending clear diplomatic signals.
Moscow is now waiting for the
German ambassador
to speak.
The
spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Sakharova
, announced on Facebook on Tuesday.
The conversation should take place on Wednesday, it said from the German embassy.
According to Sakharova, the Kremlin expects Germany to present its findings on the case.
She made a drastic statement: "It is time to lay the cards open, because it is clear to everyone: Berlin is bluffing in order to serve dirty political affairs."
In the
meantime, the
Federal Government is
keeping
all options open
in the
case of
possible sanctions against Russia
in the
Navalny case
- despite warnings from Minister of Economics Altmaier (see previous update).
"We have made it very clear that we are checking the entire instrument kit," said Foreign Office State Minister Michael Roth (SPD) of the
AFP
news
agency
.
He also referred to questions about the controversial
Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline
.
Navalny: The dispute over the German reaction continues - Altmaier warns of "hard but fair"
Update from September 8th, 7:05 am: In
view of the "cowardly assassination attempt" on the
Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny, the
German
Minister of Economic Affairs Peter Altmaier
doubts
the effectiveness of sanctions against states like
Russia
.
He does not know of any case in which a country like Russia has been induced to change its behavior by sanctions, said the
CDU politician
on Monday evening (September 7th) on the ARD talk show "hard but fair".
This would rather lead to a hardening of politics.
"We also have to clarify the question of what we
want to achieve
with our
sanctions
: Is it just about looking in the mirror, or is it about achieving and creating something positive for human rights?"
Said Altmaier
.
"For Nord Stream 2 we now need at least a construction freeze if there is
no cooperation
from
Russia
," said the
CSU politician
.
“It's about a system that is apparently ready to kill people or, in the
Navalny
case
, to poison them in order to silence them.
As can
Europe
do not stand on the side. "Is needed are clear signals.
Poisoned Navalny awakes from coma - long-term consequences cannot be ruled out
Update from September 7th, 6:55 p.m.:
Alexej Navalny has woken up from the coma.
The dispute over who was responsible for the poisoning of the
Russian opposition member
continues to rage.
CDU interior expert Patrick Sensburg
has now again rejected doubts about the origin of the apparently used poison Novitschok.
According to Sensburg, the German authorities have very precise knowledge of the
substance with which Navalny was poisoned
.
"Of course, the Western services have Novichok samples in order to be able to prove the different forms from this group," said Sensburg on Monday on the sidelines of a meeting of the parliamentary control body responsible for the secret services on the case.
He told the
world
that these samples could be obtained through "intelligence services"
.
"That annoyed the Russians very much."
The samples were used to detect the substance, said Sensburg.
The
Bundeswehr
has very precise analysis methods for this.
"You can even partially prove from which production this type of Novitschok comes", he added.
Navalny awakes from coma after poisoning - long-term consequences cannot be ruled out
Update from September 7th, 3:18 p.m
.: Kremlin critic
Andrei
Navalny awoke
from his
coma
after the
poison attack
.
This emerges from a communication from the
Berlin Charité
, where Navalny is currently being treated.
His health has improved and he will be gradually weaned from mechanical ventilation, the university clinic said on Monday.
He responded to the speech that
long-term consequences of
the severe poisoning could still not be ruled out.
1/2 🇬🇧 The condition of Alexei #Navalny has improved.
The patient has been removed from his medically induced coma and is being weaned off mechanical ventilation.
He is responding to verbal stimuli.
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin (@ChariteBerlin) September 7, 2020
Russia continues to deny being involved in the case of the 44-year-old opposition member
(see original report)
.
Kremlin spokesman
Dmitri Peskov
spoke again on Monday of
"absurd attempts"
to link the Russian government with it.
The Russian General Prosecutor's Office had applied for
legal assistance
in Germany.
The German Foreign Minister
Heiko Maas (SPD)
said
on the
ARD
that the German side would agree to this.
According to Peskow, Moscow also sees no reason why Berlin should not cooperate in the case.
Poisoned Navalny: Merkel and Maas threaten Putin - "I don't hope the Russians force us ..."
Original message from September 7th
: 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) is currently in consultation with Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) about the Nord Stream 2 Baltic Sea pipeline about the poison attack on Putin critic Alexej Nawalny.
© 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: © Pavel Golovkin / dpa