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On Sunday, thousands of protesters gathered for rallies from Vladivostok to St. Petersburg, despite warnings from the government. The protests against the arrest of Kremlin critic Alexei Navaln are taking place for the second weekend in a row.
The OVD Info agency, which publishes information on arrests during opposition protests, reported that more than 5,300 people had been arrested, nearly 1,800 in Moscow and nearly 1,200 in St. Petersburg.
The protests, which led the authorities to close down central Moscow, took place before a court hearing to decide on the punishment of A. Navalns.
The 44-year-old opponent is accused of raping the 2014 conditional sentence, he runs a risk of 2.5 m. captivity.
In a statement Monday, the prosecution said it supported the prison service’s request to exchange A. Navaln’s suspended prison for a real one.
France asks Germany to abandon Russian gas pipeline project because of Navaln
France on Monday called on Germany to abandon a major gas pipeline project with Russia and protest against the arrest of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navaln.
“We have always said that we have serious doubts about this project in this context,” French Minister for European Affairs Clement Beaune told France Inter.
When specifically asked if France wants Berlin to abandon the project, Beaune replied: “Really, we’ve already said that.”
The United States and several European countries, such as Poland, have criticized the Nord Stream 2 project for Russia’s second export gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea to Germany, saying it will increase Germany and the European Union’s dependence on natural gas supplies. From Russia.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel continues to strongly support this controversial project, despite harsh criticism at home and beyond.
According to Beaune, European leaders are considering new sanctions on Russia for the tough measures taken by President Vladimir Putin against the Navaln-led opposition arrested in mid-January.
Thousands of people ignored the government’s warnings and participated in mass protests across Russia on Sunday, as early as the second weekend, against the arrest of President Vladimir Putin’s most prominent critic, who is awaiting trial and possibly several years. from prison.
“The sanctions have already been announced … but we must be clear: they will not be enough,” Beaune said.
“Nord Stream is being considered,” he added, but acknowledged that the decision had to be made by Germany “because the pipeline is in Germany.”
Nord Stream 2 is owned by the Russian state company Gazprom, in which several European companies have invested. Construction of the pipeline was halted in December 2019 when the Swiss company’s vessels stopped working due to the threat of US sanctions, and Gazprom was forced to try to complete it using available resources.
Nord Stream 2, which is being laid at the bottom of the Baltic Sea, would double the volume of Russian gas supplied to Germany, Europe’s largest economy.
To date, more than 2.3 thousand. 2.46 thousand. kilometers, or 94%, of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
US Condemns Russia’s Harsh Tactics Against Protesters, and Russia Orders Not Intervene
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday condemned Russian authorities for their “tough” response to national protests demanding the release of Kremlin critic Alexei Navaln.
“The United States condemns the continued use of harsh tactics by the Russian authorities against peaceful protesters and journalists for the second week in a row,” Blinken wrote on his official Twitter account. “We ask Russia once again to release all those detained for exercising their human rights.”
For its part, the Russian Foreign Ministry demanded that the US State Department and the US Embassy in Moscow stop interfering in Russia’s internal affairs.
“We demand an end to interference in the affairs of sovereign states and we remind ourselves of responsibility,” said a statement posted on Russia’s MFA Facebook account in response to a US statement about the protests in Russia. “The blatant US meddling in Russia’s internal affairs is as proven as the spread of liars on Washington-controlled online platforms and unauthorized campaign calls.”
“US Secretary of State Blinken’s support for violations of the law is another confirmation of Washington’s role behind the scenes,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.
The Russian authorities are increasing pressure on the opposition through arrests and criminal cases, including against several of Navaln’s comrades.
The second wave of protests in Russia on Sunday covered the entire country, from Vladivostok in the Far East to St. Petersburg on the Baltic Sea.
Police arrested Navalna, 44, at one of Moscow’s airports on January 17, less than an hour after the opposition returned to Russia from Germany, where he was being treated for a nerve paralyzing substance after the poisoning last summer. A critic of the Kremlin claims that the Federal Security Service (FSB) tried to poison him on Putin’s instructions. The Kremlin denies any connection to the incident.
The Russian Prison Service (FSIN) later said that it had arrested Navalna for allegedly violating the terms of a probation sentence imposed on him in a 2014 fraud case. The opposition itself considers the case politically motivated.
The EU condemned the “mass arrests” of protests in support of Navaln
European Union (EU) diplomatic chief Josep Borrell said he condemned “the mass arrests and disproportionate use of force” against protesters and journalists in Russia on Sunday.
Written on Twitter, Borrell added: “Russia must comply with its international obligations.”
“I condemn # once again the mass arrests in Russia today and the disproportionate use of force against protesters and journalists,” Borrell wrote on Twitter.
“The people must be able to exercise their right to demonstrate without fear of repression. Russia must fulfill its international obligations,” he added.
Borrell is due to arrive in Moscow next Thursday to discuss EU-Russia relations, during which he is expected to pressure the Kremlin to release Navalna from the Kremlin.
Navaln was arrested at the Moscow airport when he returned to Russia from Germany on January 17, where he was treated after being poisoned by Soviet scientists using Novičiok.
Borrell’s three-day trip to Russia, the first high-ranking envoy in Brussels since 2017, has drawn criticism from some of the bloc’s 27 states, concerned that he will send the wrong signal to Moscow.
However, he insists that he is willing to give a “clear message” to his colleague Sergei Lavrov when he meets.
Some EU countries are raising the issue of sanctions for repression, but so far the bloc is waiting to find out if President Vladimir Putin’s most famous opponent will be released in Russia.
In October, the EU froze the assets of six-story Russian officials and banned them from Navalna due to “using chemical weapons in an attempt.”
EU relations with Moscow deteriorated in 2014 due to the annexation of Crimea and incitement to conflict in eastern Ukraine in 2014.
Borrell, who also intends to meet with representatives of Russian civil society, seeks to use the Kremlin’s help to revive the 2015 nuclear pact with Iran.
He is pushing for Moscow to influence Tehran as new US President Joe Biden discusses rejoining the deal.
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