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“That doesn’t fit into Putin’s system.”
| Reading time: 4 minutes
Navalny is shown climbing the stairs
Since August 22, Russian opposition politician Alexej Navalny has been treated at the Berlin Charité after being poisoned. After being in an artificial coma for weeks, he posted a photo on Instagram showing him climbing stairs.
Leonid Volkov is the right-hand man of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny. From Berlin he controls the work of the opposition and meets with allies. In an interview, he gives an idea of Putin’s strategy and explains the role that Europe should now assume.
Leonid Volkov has no time to waste. The campaign manager of the poisoned Kremlin critic Alexej Navalny is sitting in a pub in Berlin-Mitte. During the conversation, he has a hasty breakfast and answers messages on his smartphone. Volkov has a tight schedule: from Berlin he directs the work of the Navalny Progress Party and managed the Russian regional elections a week ago; He visits his boss regularly in the Charité and meets allies.
Wolkow describes Navalnys’ recovery to awakening from coma as a “slow and painful development.” It was not yet clear when he would return and when he could return to Russia. Volkov believes that the Kremlin will try to prevent Navalny from doing so. “It would not be legal to prevent him from entering the country, so, in turn, so many illegal things have already happened,” says Volkov.
“He plans to return to Russia after his recovery”
For the first time since he was poisoned, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny has spoken publicly. WELT reporter Marie Przibylla summarizes the latest developments and information.
Source: WORLD / Marie Przibylla
At the moment, the priority for him and Navalny is how exactly the poison attack occurred. “We went through various scenarios with information that is not yet public,” Wolkow said. A Bundeswehr laboratory had shown poisoning with the war agent Novitschok, and Berlin has been asking Moscow for weeks to seek clarification. The Kremlin, however, is fighting fiercely and is trying to question the results.
The Crimean crisis, the treatment of poisoned Pussy Riot member Pyotr Verilov in the Charité two years ago and Russia’s lack of cooperation in the investigation of the so-called Tiergarten murder had already put great strain on relations between Germany and Russia. But now countries are at a crossroads, says Volkov. “Russia has always been a partner that caused a lot of problems, that happens in relations. Now, however, the government is trying to kill the country’s most famous opposition leader, lies, denies the results of the investigation and uses a banned chemical warfare agent, ”says Volkov. “How could Russia remain a partner now?”
He does not consider that Germany’s role as Russia’s mediator in the West should be a thing of the past with the Navalny case. “I have never believed in this idea of mediation and building bridges between Putin and the West,” Volkov said. Each brochure understands this as a weakness. “For him, Merkel, Kurz and Macron are hypocrites because they speak of freedom and democracy and, despite all the diplomatic failures of Russia, continue to seek dialogue with him.
Putin’s strategy now is to deny everything and wait until another international conflict distracts Navalny’s attention. “He thinks he will have to wait for everything to settle down. As was the case with the annexation of Crimea, ”said Volkov.
He hopes that the West understands that there can never be negotiations on an equal footing with Moscow. “I think Europe always wanted the best for everyone, but that does not fit into Putin’s system, which has to do with one’s own advantages.”
Himself becomes a target
However, he considers the blanket sanctions against Russia to be a mistake: the Kremlin would only use them to pose as a victim of the West. The same applies to the demolition of the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which the German government is no longer ruling out. Volkov advocates personal sanctions against oligarchs in Putin’s closest circle. They are so unpopular in Russia that the propaganda machine can hardly cope with them. It also prevents the billions it invested in European countries from promoting corruption and thereby strengthening Russia’s influence.
The campaign manager does not believe that fear of further repression will weaken political work after the attack. Being part of the opposition in Russia has always been dangerous. “We do not have a regional coordinator who has not yet been arrested,” Volkov said. However, no one has retired in recent weeks.
He himself is a target time and time again: He had to serve prison terms of up to 30 days several times because Moscow accused him of inciting riots. Volkov left the country last year after there was evidence that a full indictment was being prepared against him. Since then he has been working from Vilnius. In prison it was of no use to the opposition, Volkov said. “But you can also do a good job from a distance.”
This text is from WELT AM SONNTAG. We are happy to take them home on a regular basis.
Welt am Sonntag packshot media page E-day September 20, 2020
Source: Welt am Sonntag
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