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NATO to Meet on Poisoning of Putin Critic Navalny
I expect Germany will present forensic evidence to the NATO ministers. They will probably also discuss another European dictator-murderer ... Lukashenka of Belarus.
I hope the alliance stops playing footsie with Putin. He has shown that he will murder anyone, anywhere, and at anytime.
Related: The West Is Outraged By Navalny’s Novichok Poisoning. That’s No Guarantee of Tough Sanctions
9/4/20
The poisoning of Alexei Navalny will be discussed at an urgent NATO meeting on Friday after European leaders threatened fresh sanctions against Moscow, which has furiously denied targeting the Russian opposition leader. The 44-year-old lawyer, one of President Vladimir Putin's chief critics, fell ill on a flight last month and was evacuated to Germany for treatment. Western leaders have demanded answers from the Kremlin after Berlin said there was "unequivocal evidence" that he had been afflicted by the infamous Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok. The same substance was used against Russian ex-double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the English town of Salisbury two years ago, and Germany's claim prompted widespread condemnation. Germany will brief a special meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization at 12:30pm Brussels time (1030 GMT), with the alliance's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to hold a press conference after it concludes.
Already suffering from wide-ranging Western sanctions imposed over its 2014 annexation of Crimea, as well as the effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the drop in oil prices, Moscow will be anxious to avoid any further pressure on its economy. Germany's announcement sent the ruble plunging to its lowest level against the euro since 2016 and Moscow's RTS stock exchange fell more than three percent. "Russia's relations with the West have once again been poisoned by Novichok," wrote business daily Kommersant. "The main question is, how far will they decide to go?" it said.
I expect Germany will present forensic evidence to the NATO ministers. They will probably also discuss another European dictator-murderer ... Lukashenka of Belarus.
I hope the alliance stops playing footsie with Putin. He has shown that he will murder anyone, anywhere, and at anytime.
Related: The West Is Outraged By Navalny’s Novichok Poisoning. That’s No Guarantee of Tough Sanctions