Germany faces pressure to drop Russian pipeline project over Navalny's poisoning

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing growing pressure to reconsider Russia’s rd Stream 2 pipeline after health authorities confirmed poisoning of Alexei Navalny with a Soviet-style nerve nt. Merkel said that Russian opposition leer was a victim of an assassination attempt, demanding an explanation from Moscow. 

rd Stream 2 is one of two Russian projects in Europe to supply gas to Germany and was expected to start in mid-2020 but got delayed due to coronavirus pandemic. 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. 

rd Stream 2 is considered as a key part project to deliver gas to Europe via Baltic. two Russian pipelines are expected to start soon to increase its supply to European countries which will bolster Russia’s position strategically. In December 2019, Russia h asserted that rd Stream 2 pipeline will be completed despite sanctions imposed by US Senate against companies working on project.

"If rd Stream 2 pipeline is completed w, it would be maximum confirmation and encourment for Putin to continue this kind of politics," Roettgen h told German television earlier.

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Demands for explanation

Western countries are furious after German authorities confirmed presence of a Soviet-era nerve nt vichok in Navalny's blood sample. Merkel’s spokesman Steffen Seibert said in a statement that toxicological test results "revealed unequivocal proof of presence of a chemical nerve nt from vichok group." 

" Federal Government condemns this attack in strongest possible terms. Russian Government is urgently called upon to make a statement on incident," statement re.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson condemned “outrous” poisoning of Navalny, demanding an explanation from Russia. He also pledged to work with international partners to ensure that justice is done.

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