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Berlin denies Moscow consular access to opposition figure Navalny

Sunday, 04 October 2020 7:47 AM [ Last Update: Sunday, 04 October 2020 8:17 AM ]

This handout photo posted on September 21, 2020 on the Instagram account of @navalny shows Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny and his wife Yulia Navalnaya in Berlin's Charite hospital. (Photo by AFP)

Germany has rejected a request from the Russian Embassy in Berlin for consular access to Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.

"There are no answers to the questions asked by the Russian side through the political dialog or through the diplomatic channels. The Russian Embassy in Berlin has received a refusal from the German Foreign Ministry for assistance in providing consular access to Navalny," the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Saturday.

Navalny, 44, emerged from a coma early last month after taking ill on a domestic Russian flight on August 20. He was later transported to Berlin for treatment.

Doctors at Berlin’s Charite Hospital alleged that Navalny had been poisoned with Novichok, an internationally-banned nerve agent. However, no evidence has been provided to date.

Moscow has denied any involvement in any attack on the opposition figure.

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Russian doctors, who had examined Navalny when he was first hospitalized in the country, said they had found no trace of any poison in his blood.

Leonid Rink from the Russian State Research Institute of Organic Chemistry & Technology has said that if Navalny had been "poisoned" with the deadly Soviet-era agent, he would have been dead before making it to the plane.

Navalny and his supporters, however, continue to claim that he had been the target of an assassination attempt under the direct orders of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Kremlin has said the claims were extremely insulting and unacceptable.

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Germany has sent samples taken from Navalny to the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague for additional tests in their laboratories.

Germany seeks EU sanctions against Russia

German Foreign Minister Heiko Josef Maas said on Saturday that Berlin expected the EU to impose more economic sanctions against Moscow should the tests confirm poisoning.

“If the result of the German, Swedish and French laboratories is confirmed, there will be a clear response from the EU. I’m sure about that,” Maas said.

The case has put Berlin under pressure to halt the nearly-completed Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which will transfer Russian gas directly to Germany.

Maas, however, appeared to dismiss the notion that Germany was prepared to go in that direction even if the "poisoning" allegation was proven.

He said more than 100 European companies from several countries were involved in the project, half of which were German firms. “So many European workers would suffer from a construction freeze.”

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