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Germany angered by Russia’s plan to slap retaliatory sanctions in Navalny case

Friday, 13 November 2020 2:10 PM [ Last Update: Friday, 13 November 2020 2:10 PM ]

This file photo, taken on August 22, 2020, shows German army emergency personnel loading into their ambulance the stretcher that was used to transport Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny, at Berlin's Charite Hospital, where Navalny was treated after his medical evacuation to Germany. (By AFP)

Germany has criticized Russia’s plan to slap retaliatory sanctions on Berlin over the case of Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow would soon announce punitive measures against senior French and German officials in retaliation for the introduction of sanctions by Berlin and Paris on Russian officials over the alleged poisoning of opposition figure Alexei Navalny in August.

Commenting on the sanctions, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said in Berlin on Friday, "From the perspective of the German government, such a step is obviously unjustified and inappropriate."

Navalny, 44, collapsed during a domestic Russian flight from the Siberian city of Tomsk to Moscow on August 20 and was taken to a local hospital. He was airlifted to Berlin on August 22. Navalny’s aides claimed he had been poisoned after drinking a bottle of water at a hotel before the flight.

Russia to impose sanctions on German, French officials in tit-for-tat move over Navalny: Lavrov

The Russian foreign minister says Moscow will soon impose retaliatory sanctions on German and French officials over opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

On September 2, Germany claimed without evidence that the Russian opposition figure had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent.

The Russian doctors who tested Navalny’s blood for poisoning before he was moved to Germany said at the time that the test results had come back negative.

Western governments have been attacking Russia with accusations that it poisoned Navalny, saying Moscow must help investigate the case or face consequences.

The Russian government has denied any involvement in any attack on Navalny, who was discharged from a Berlin hospital in September.

Germany has also rejected a request by Russian prosecutors to provide Navalny’s medical records for a comparative study of his condition.

In October, European Union (EU) foreign ministers agreed to back a French-German proposal to impose sanctions on several Russian military intelligence officials over Navalny’s case.

Lavrov said on Thursday that Moscow had "reason to believe" Navalny was poisoned in Germany or on the flight to Berlin.

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