Published 18:15 IST, September 7th 2020
Germany denies ruling out impact on Nord Stream project over Navalny’s poisoning
Germany has denied ruling out consequences for Russia’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline project if Kremlin fails to thoroughly probe the alleged poisoning of Navalny.
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Germany has denied ruling out consequences for Russia’s rd Stream 2 gas pipeline project if Kremlin fails to thoroughly probe alleged poisoning of Alexei Navalny. German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesperson was asked wher Berlin would protect pipeline if government seeks sanctions against Russia over Navalny’s poisoning.
" chancellor believes it would be wrong to rule anything out from start," Steffen Seibert responded.
Merkel is facing growing pressure to reconsider rd Stream 2 pipeline, one of two Russian projects in Europe to supply gas to Germany, after health authorities confirmed poisoning of Alexei Navalny with a Soviet-style nerve nt. Merkel’s spokesperson h said in a statement that Navalny’s toxicological test results "revealed unequivocal proof of presence of a chemical nerve nt from vichok group."
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Organisation for Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) said that any poisoning of an individual through use of a nerve nt is considered a use of chemical weapons. OPCW Director-General Fernando Arias said in a statement that such an allegation is a matter of serious concern and States that signatories to Chemical Weapons Convention deem use of chemical weapons as reprehensible.
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Multi-billion dollar project
rd Stream 2, a 10-billion-euro pipeline near completion, is considered as a key part project to deliver gas to Europe via Baltic. Russian pipeline is expected to start soon to increase its supply to European countries which will bolster Russia’s position strategically. United States has criticised European countries for ir reliance on energy from Russia and President Donald Trump signed legislation to impose sanctions on Russian companies working on project.
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rbert Roettgen, he of Germany's parliamentary foreign affairs committee, told German rio that government must pursue hard politics and speak only langu Russian President Vlimir Putin understands. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters that talks of thwarting rd Stream 2 are based on emotions, ding that project was a commercial one which benefited Russia, Germany and Europe.
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18:15 IST, September 7th 2020