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Federal Chancellor Heiko Maas (SPD) has defended himself against the Russian government’s accusations. This accuses German authorities of delaying investigations into the case of poisoned Russian opposition activist Alexej Navalny. Maas said on the ARD “Report from Berlin” program that the Russian ambassador had already been told that Russia would approve a request for legal assistance. “There is no reason not to agree with that.”
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Sakharova had previously said that Moscow was quite ready to work with Berlin on the case. “The Berlin side must show operational action here,” he said on Rossija-24 television station.
But he accused the German authorities of postponing the investigation. Berlin did not respond to a request for legal assistance from the Russian prosecution on August 27. Sakharova asked: “Where is this urgency that you insist on?” She wrote on Facebook: “Berlin is delaying the investigation that it asks of itself. By the way?”
The prominent Russian opposition politician Navalny has been treated at the Berlin Charité since August 22, after he collapsed two days earlier during a flight in Russia. The federal government announced Wednesday that Navalny had been poisoned “without question” with a chemical nerve agent from the so-called Novichok group. The poison was developed by Soviet scientists in the 1970s.
Maas: “Another smoke candle”
Maas spoke in ARD of “another smoke candle, of which we have already seen some in the last few days. And I’m afraid there will be others in the next few days.” Investigations are currently underway at the Berlin Charité, where Navalny is being treated.
However, it was stated quite clearly that if a formal request for legal assistance was submitted, “we will give all necessary consents to exchange information on this request for legal assistance.”
The Berlin judicial administration is examining such a request from the Russian authorities, as announced by the Berlin Public Prosecutor’s Office. Its approval will be decided after an examination and, if necessary, in consultation with the responsible federal authorities.
Russia should contribute to education
Maas again asked Russia to help solve the case. “If Russia does not contribute to the investigation or if more smoke candles like this are lit, as has been the case for days, then that is another indication that something has to be hidden,” said the SPD politician. Reactions and consequences will have to be discussed at European level in the coming days. If there are to be consequences, they should be “effective and specific”.
Looking ahead to demands to stop construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline in the Baltic Sea, through which Russian gas will be transported to Germany, Maas said there are still good reasons for the pipeline. More than a hundred companies participate, including half from Germany. The chancellor also emphasized, however, that he considered it incorrect “to rule out from the beginning that what is currently happening may have any impact on this project.” (Read more about the battle for the last meters of the pipeline here).
The managing director of the Eastern Committee for the German Economy, Michael Harms, told the ARD that there have been “absolutely reliable energy relations” with Russia for 50 years. Even in the most difficult political phases, it was continued with good reason. Harms said he “recommends that this time as well.”
