Austria: No link between Navalny case and pipeline

Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen said Tuesday he sees no connection between the case of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny case and the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline.

He was speading at a joint press conference with Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy.

The Austrian owned OMV oil company is one of the investors in the pipeline, which aims to deliver Russian gas directly to Germany and subsequently Austria.

There have been calls for Germany to pull out of the project because of allegations that Navalny - who's being treated in a Berlin hospital - was poisoned by Russia.

But van der Bellen and Austrian chancellor Sebastian Kurz, while denouncing the poisoning, say the project should continue to go ahead.