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September 4, 21:38
Alexey Navalny is transported to Omsk airport to fly to Germany (Photo: REUTERS / Alexey Malgavko)
According to the German edition Spiegel, the confirmation of the use of chemical weapons against the Russian opposition had an effect «political bomb ”.
NV publishes the translation of the article Merkel trapped in Russia (Merkel in Russia’s trap).
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When Merkel invited six ministers from her office to her chancery on Wednesday afternoon, it was officially presented as an invitation for coffee. Formal convocation of the Security Cabinet (an organ of the German Federal Government, which is summoned by the Chancellor when necessary to discuss external or internal security issues – ed.) would draw too much attention.
It was about the fate of Alexei Navalny, a Russian opposition politician, hospitalized for poisoning in the Berlin Charite clinic. Merkel said that the results of the analysis appeared from the Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology of the Federal Armed Forces in Munich, whose leader was engaged in the investigation of poisonings in Syria. These results were a political bombshell.
According to the participants in the meeting, the doctor said without any doubt that the poison belongs to the Novichok group of nerve agents. His traces were found not only in blood, urine and on Navalny’s skin, but also on a bottle that he took with him on a trip. Navalny’s relatives kept this bottle after he passed out on the plane and handed it over to doctors in Berlin. Navalny allegedly drank from this bottle when it was already poisoned, leaving traces of poison in it.
The statement by experts from the German armed forces, according to a government spokesman, became «a real shock. “After him, it became clear that relations between Germany and Russia would radically change. The presence of clear evidence of the presence of an internationally banned neurotoxin increases the likelihood that the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin himself were behind the attack.
That same night, the Chancellor delivered a speech in unusually harsh terms. In particular, Merkel said: “There are now very serious questions that only the Russian government can and should answer.”
So formally, the word is for Russia. Meanwhile, a debate has arisen in Berlin about what sanctions the federal government should now adopt. The expulsion of Russian diplomats has yet to make a good impression on Moscow, as have the sanctions imposed on those responsible for the annexation of Crimea. Economic sanctions against certain industries or products would have an effect, but they would likely hit Germany just as hard.
The only punishment that will hurt Moscow in the first place is the freeze on the construction of the nearly completed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.
«The naive view of the German government on President Putin’s harsh conduct must finally end. The end of Nord Stream 2 will be provided, ”says Agnieszka Brugger, deputy leader. «green “. in the Bundestag.
Pipeline construction «an urgent need to stop, “said Bijan Jir Saray, spokesman for the parliamentary foreign policy faction of the Free Democratic Party.
«It was a mistake from the beginning to ignore the political basis of Nord Stream 2, ”he says.
Even from the side of the ruling parties, calls for an end to the construction of the gas pipeline are louder. This is required by the candidate for the post of president of the Christian Democratic Union and head of the foreign affairs commission in the Bundestag, Norbert Röttgen, as well as the head of the European People’s Party group in the European Parliament, Manfred Weber.
«Of course, one of the most severe penalties is the partial suspension of the procurement of raw materials. The end of Nord Stream 2 can no longer be ruled out, ”Weber said.
However, the German government excludes it for now. At least officially. Informally, members of the government admit that this option should be discussed. Construction work on the pipeline is currently suspended anyway, as the United States threatens sanctions. Therefore, it will not be difficult to declare a moratorium and freeze construction.
The Chancellor would have preferred a pan-European solution. She is convinced that the Navalny poisoning does not only concern Germany. The first opportunity for a joint reaction came at the meeting of ambassadors responsible for the security policy of the EU member states, which took place on Thursday in Brussels. The Navalny case was on the agenda. Other EU members noted that Germany accepted Navalny and provided him with medical assistance.
In the evening, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, said that the EU reserves the right to accept «tough measures ”. It is quite possible that the European Union, like after the poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal, will impose sanctions against people close to Putin.
However, some diplomats point out the differences between the two poisonings. Skripal was poisoned by the Novice in 2018 in the British city of Salisbury along with his daughter, and they barely survived. Then the attack was carried out on the territory of the European Union and Navalny was poisoned on the territory of Russia. During the attack on the Skripals, British citizens were also exposed to the neurotoxin, while in the case of Navalny, EU citizens were not in danger. Furthermore, in the case of the poisoning of the Skripals, it was possible to identify the perpetrators quite clearly, which cannot be said about the case of the Navalny poisoning. It is still unknown who is to blame, it is difficult to talk about punishment, said Borrell.
According to Daniel Kaspari, head of the group of the European People’s Party in the European Parliament, the attack on Navalny is further proof that Putin is not taking EU foreign policy seriously.
«The poison attack shows that the EU is not even able to effectively represent its interests, ”he says.
EU diplomats, long involved in Russian politics, have a similar view of the Navalny poisoning.
«One thing is clear: Putin is showing the middle finger to Europe. Russia has absolutely nothing against the fact that known scientists now confirm the Moscow trail. This is exactly what is important to the Russians. “The fact that the EU Foreign and Security Officer Josep Borrell condemned the murder «in the most decisive way ”on behalf of the EU and demands an explanation from Russia, it will not impress Moscow without the threat of concrete punishment.
It is also doubtful that it will ever be possible to unequivocally condemn the Kremlin as a client. (poisoning of Alexei Navalny – ed.), because the Novice, which once developed in the Soviet Union, has spread to other countries a long time ago, and Germany also played a role in this.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union, a Russian scientist proposed to the Federal Intelligence Service (BND) are sneaking out of the country something that shouldn’t officially exist: a binary neurotoxin from a secret chemical weapons program, codenamed The Folio. Binary, because shortly before use, it can only be mixed from two much more harmless substances. Not only can this hide the production of the poison, but it also makes it safer to transport. The scientist wanted to move to the West with his family and the neurotoxin was going to be his ticket.
The proposal became known not only to the BND, but also to Helmut Kohl’s office. There it was decided to investigate the neurotoxin in another country. The scientist’s wife smuggled two vials to Sweden in 1997, where they were analyzed in a military laboratory. Result: rookie.
German intelligence was proud to share its knowledge with key NATO partners, including Britain and the United States, who already knew about the poison.
In addition to the samples brought by the scientist’s wife to Sweden, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, new doses of the neurotoxin were sold uncontrollably on the black market. The source was at least a frustrated employee of a secret laboratory in the city of Shikhany, near the border with Kazakhstan, where he had not been paid for a long time.
According to British intelligence reports, there are traces of the Skripals in Shikhany.
In 1994, a high-ranking scientist named Leonid Rink produced a batch of Novichok, poured the substance into 0.25-gram glass bottles, and stored several of them in his garage. According to court records, Rink sold these vials to Chechens and a Latvian at prices ranging from $ 1,500 to $ 1,800 each.
According to experts, the poison in these vials, if stored correctly, can remain effective for decades.
When Spiegel contacted Rink, a loyalist to the Russian regime on Thursday, he denied that Navalny had been poisoned by Novichok: “This is complete nonsense. Even if they found something, it is not poison, there was no poisoning. ”After these words, he hung up.
His former colleague Vil Mirzayanov has completely different points of view. It was he who, in the early 1990s, made public the existence of a new type of Russian nerve agent. Today he is 85 years old and lives in Princeton, United States.
«Rink should speak like this today, ”Mirzayanov is convinced.
He has a clear opinion on the Navalny poisoning: “The state structures are behind him. This is impossible in Russia without Putin, because such attacks always lead to international scandal. “
He is self-critical of his role: “I am very sorry to have worked in this field and contributed to the development of neurotoxins. I feel guilty. “
NV translation
