The Bundestag and the State Duma urge to distinguish between political and economic interaction between states and law enforcement issues in connection with the story with blogger Alexei Navalny, according to a joint statement signed by the chairmen of both groups – Robbie Schlund from the German side and Pavel Zavalny – from the Russian side.
“We also consider it extremely important and demand a strict distinction between political and economic interaction and law enforcement issues. This is especially important in the sensitive sphere of Russian-German relations”, – the statement, which was received by RIA Novosti, says.
The statement stressed that parliamentarians in Berlin and Moscow insist “on a constructive and impartial investigation (of the incident with Navalny – ed.), which is not a priori linked to cooperation between our countries in civil society, economy and culture”.
Earlier, a number of politicians in Germany spoke in favor of stopping the Nord Stream-2 project in connection with the situation around Navalny; they also called for sanctions against Russia in other Western countries. However, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said that the issues of Nord Stream-2 and the Navalny incident should be considered separately.
At the same time, more balanced positions are voiced in the West. Dmitry Peskov, the press secretary of the Russian President, also noted that the Nord Stream-2 project is commercial, it is being implemented in the interests of the energy security of the entire European continent, calls by some German parliamentarians to stop it because of the situation with Navalny are emotional statements that are not based on some facts. He noted that the Kremlin does not see the risks of Germany blocking Nord Stream-2; for every statement that is being made now calling to stop the project, there are two statements about the absurdity of such proposals.
Navalny was hospitalized in Omsk on August 20 after he fell ill on the plane. Based on the results of the examinations, the Omsk doctors called the main diagnosis a metabolic disorder, which caused a sharp change in blood sugar. It is not yet clear what caused it, but according to Omsk doctors, no poisons were found in Navalny’s blood and urine.
Later, Navalny was transported by plane to Germany. The German government announced, citing military doctors, that Navalny was allegedly poisoned with a substance from the Novichok group of toxic warfare agents. In this regard, the Kremlin stated that Berlin did not inform Moscow of its findings, and the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed that Russia was waiting for a response from Germany to an official request on this situation.
On the day of Navalny’s hospitalization, the prosecutor’s office and the police began to conduct their checks. The Russian Embassy in Berlin said that they expect the German side to respond as quickly as possible to the request of the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office dated August 27 for legal assistance in the Navalny case. Russia is interested and wants to clarify the situation, for this we need information from Germany, which is not yet available, said Dmitry Peskov, press secretary of the Russian President. Investigative actions on the situation with Navalny are de facto going on, if the presence of a poisonous substance is confirmed, the investigation will be open and de jure, said the press secretary of the President of the Russian Federation.
On Monday, the Berlin clinic Charite reported that Navalny’s condition improved, he was taken out of a coma.