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It is disappointing that Gerhard Schröder denies the poison attack on him: In an interview, Kremlin critic Navalny calls the former chancellor “Putin’s errand boy.” Call for sanctions against people close to Putin.
The poisoned Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny has called on the German government and the European Union to crack down on oligarchs, politicians and companies close to the Kremlin, such as Valery Gergiev, conductor of the Munich Philharmonic. “Sanctions against the whole country do not work. The most important thing is to issue entry bans to the regime’s speculators and freeze their assets,” Navalny told the daily “Bild”. “They embezzle money, steal billions, and on weekends they fly to Berlin or London, buy expensive apartments and sit in cafes.” Gergiev is a supporter of the authoritarian Russian President Vladimir Putin and campaigned for his re-election.
Navalny also criticized former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in this context. He called him a “Putin errand boy.” “Putin pays Gerhard Schröder. But if he tries to deny this poison attack now, it is really very disappointing,” Navalny told the newspaper. Schröder had recently said there were “no certain facts” about the poison attack on Navalny. “After all, he is the former chancellor of the most powerful country in Europe,” Navalny said. “Now Schröder is Putin’s errand boy who protects murderers.”
Schröder heads the board of directors of Nord Stream 2 AG, the project company for the controversial Baltic Sea pipeline, in which the Russian energy company Gazprom is formally the sole shareholder. He is also chairman of the board of directors of the largest Russian oil company, Rosneft. Critics accuse him of pressuring the Kremlin in office.
“I’m not scared”
Regardless of the danger to which he is exposed in Russia, he wants to return to his homeland. “I am a Russian politician, a Russian citizen. I think I am doing something important and many people in Russia support me.” You must share the risk with them and be with them on the street. “It’s the only way to earn people’s trust.”
He is not afraid, continues Navalny. “I’m not crazy, I understand the risks, but I just can’t control them.” You have to live with it. “If I were afraid, I would be ashamed. Because I know that the people of the regions have to put up with much more than me.”
“Direct order from Putin”
The Kremlin critic collapsed on a Russian domestic flight on August 20 and was initially treated after an emergency landing in Omsk, Siberia. On August 22, he was flown to Germany for treatment in Berlin Charite. After tests in a special Bundeswehr laboratory, the federal government declared that Navalny had been poisoned with a neurotoxin from the Novitschok group.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) also confirmed this finding on Tuesday. Moscow rejects the suspicion that Russian government agencies may have deliberately poisoned Navalny. Navalny again personally blamed Putin for the crime in the “Bild” newspaper. “I think this was a direct order from Putin and I don’t expect that there will ever be a real investigation,” the Kremlin critic told the newspaper. So far Russia has not even tried to make it look like an investigation is underway.
