Navalny Poisoning Shows EU Must Open Its Eyes About Russia

9/13/20
Latvian Prime Minister Krisjanis Karins says the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny shows that the European Union must get more realistic about its dealings with Russia. "What still has to happen to see that this is a Russia that is dangerous for Europe and for our European values?” Karins said in an interview published on September 13 by German broadcaster ARD. "We must finally open our eyes." Karins said targeted sanctions under consideration by the EU are only symbolic, and therefore is reiterating his call for Germany to stop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project. Other Eastern European countries -- Poland, Estonia, and Lithuania -- are pressing for a halt to the project, and Karins said since the Navalny poisoning, it’s no longer possible to ignore these calls. Latvia believes that Russia's motive is to increase German dependence on Russian natural gas, Karins said, accusing Moscow of using Europe's reliance on gas as a political weapon. Berlin has been facing increasing calls for a sharper response to the poisoning. Some opposition politicians have called for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to be canceled.

The United States opposes the project on the grounds that it strengthens the Kremlin's grip on the European energy market and punishes Ukraine, which is battling Russia-backed separatists in its eastern provinces. European vessels laying the pipeline halted their work in December following the first round of U.S. sanctions that specifically targeted their activity. Russia is hoping to complete it using its own ships, but the United States has taken steps to stop that by widening the sanctions beyond vessels to any company working on the project. Navalny remains in a hospital in Berlin after German doctors concluded “without doubt” that he was poisoned with a military nerve agent from the Soviet-designed Novichok group. The 44-year-old anti-corruption campaigner was flown to Germany on August 22, two days after falling ill on a flight in Siberia.

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Rogue Valley said:

Latvian Prime Minister: Navalny Poisoning Shows EU Must Open Its Eyes About Russia

NS-2 is too divisive in the West and needs to be deep-sixed.

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Novichok said:

I resent the insinuation that Russia is incompetent.

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