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According to Steffen Seibert, spokesperson for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Berlin will discuss the way forward with its European partners.
However, a spokesperson told reporters that the German government had not changed its position in support of the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline with Russia.
On Tuesday, Kremlin critic A. Navalnas was sentenced to nearly three years in prison for violating the terms of a probation sentence imposed on him in a 2014 fraud case. Shortly thereafter, United States, United Kingdom. Kingdom), Germany and the EU called on Moscow to release Navalna immediately.
Commenting on Navaln’s arrest, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said that Russia had taken an authoritarian path and that the EU should consider reacting when diplomatic chief Joseph Borell returned from a visit to Moscow.
He said France would not pressure Germany to abandon plans to operate the Nord Stream 2 pipeline and buy Russian natural gas.
According to Reuters, Clement Beaune, France’s European prime minister, said this week that Europe should consider ending the Nord Stream 2 project over Russia’s actions against Kremlin critic Alexei Navaln and its brutal crackdown on protesters.
For their part, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other German politicians continue to support the pipeline project, and J.-Y. Le Drian assured that Paris should not interfere in the Berlin elections.
“We must not confuse these things,” he told Europe 1 radio when asked if the Nord Stream 2 project should be discontinued. “We are discussing Nord Stream 2 with the Germans, but it is mainly about energy independence from Europe.”
“It just came to our notice then. I will not interfere in Germany’s energy elections,” the French foreign minister said.
Following the court ruling, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken demanded Navalna’s release and warned that Washington and its allies “will hold Russia accountable for its disregard for the rights of its citizens.”
French President Emanuel Macron also called for the release of the opposition, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel called Moscow’s decision “far from any rule of law.” UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson described Russia’s actions as “sheer cowardice”.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who is preparing for a visit to Moscow later this week, said Navaln’s imprisonment “goes against Russia’s international obligations regarding the rule of law and fundamental freedoms “.
At the time, Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, called the Western reaction “detached from reality” and added: “There is no need to interfere in the internal affairs of a sovereign state.”
Police detained 1,408 people between Tuesday and Wednesday morning, mainly in Moscow and St. Petersburg, to quell protests in Russian cities, an independent monitoring group, OVD Info, said. Many of these people were detained before the verdict. of Navaln.
“Life is getting harder under this regime, we have no future … It will only get worse,” Alexander, a 27-year-old engineer, told AFP near Red Square.
Although he has never held a popularly elected office, Navaln has earned a reputation for investigating the corruption that exposes the lavish lifestyle of the Russian elite.
Two days after his arrest, his team announced an investigation into a luxury property on the Black Sea that Navaln said was turned over to Putin through a billion-dollar scheme funded by his close allies leading in state-owned companies. .
The study was published alongside a YouTube video that was viewed by more than 100 million people. together.
Putin denies owning that property. Arkady Rotenberg, a billionaire businessman close to the Russian leader, said last week that the estate belonged to him and that it would be converted into a hotel.
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