Extract from ABC News
Poisoned Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's condition has improved, allowing doctors to take him out of an induced coma, the German hospital treating him has said.
Key points:
- Alexei Navalny, a prominent Putin critic, fell ill on a plane on August 20
- German authorities have confirmed he was poisoned with a Soviet-era nerve agent
- This comes as Berlin reconsiders a landmark gas deal with Moscow
Mr Navalny, a fierce, high-profile critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, was flown to Germany last month after falling ill on August 20 on a domestic flight in Russia.
German chemical weapons experts say toxicology tests show the 44-year-old was poisoned with Soviet-era nerve agent Novichok, prompting the German Government last week to demand that Russia investigate the case.
"The patient has been removed from his medically induced coma and is being weaned off mechanical ventilation," Berlin's Charite hospital said in a statement.
It added that the decision to publicly release details of his condition was made in consultation with Mr Navalny's wife.
Mr Navalny had been in an induced coma in the Berlin hospital since he was flown to Germany on August 22 for treatment.
Germany to reconsider Russian gas deal
News of his gradual recovery came as German Chancellor Angela Merkel's office indicated that she might be willing to rethink the fate of a controversial German-Russian gas pipeline project — a sign of Berlin's growing frustration over Moscow's stonewalling of the case.
German authorities said last week that tests showed "proof without doubt" that Mr Navalny was poisoned with a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group.
Russia has denied that the Kremlin was involved in poisoning Mr Navalny and accused Germany of failing to provide evidence about the poisoning.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said Sunday that the Russian reaction could determine whether Germany changes its long-standing backing for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which brings Russian gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea, bypassing Ukraine.
"The Chancellor also believes that it's wrong to rule anything out," Ms Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert told reporters Monday after being asked about Mr Maas' comments.
Previously, Ms Merkel had insisted on "decoupling" the Navalny case from the pipeline project, which the US strongly opposes.
In August, three US Republican senators threatened sanctions against the operator of a Baltic Sea port located in Ms Merkel's parliamentary constituency for its role as a staging post for ships involved in building the pipeline..
The US already has legislation that bars its firms from working on the pipeline.
Mr Seibert cautioned that it was premature to expect Moscow to respond to the matter within a few days, but made it clear that Berlin wants answers soon.
German diplomats rejected the Russian suggestion that Berlin was to blame for any delay in investigating the case, noting that Mr Navalny was first treated for suspected poisoning in the Siberian city of Omsk on August 20.
Gas project 'wrong in security terms'
The co-leader of Germany's opposition Green party, Robert Habeck, called on the Government to take a stronger stance and "bury" the pipeline project.
The project "divides Europe, it is economically nonsensical and oversized, and it is wrong in security policy terms," Mr Habeck said.
Completing it "would mean that Russia can do what it wants. This signal must not be sent."
Mikhail Ulyanov, the Russian envoy to international organisations in Vienna, voiced suspicions about the timing of demands to link the pipeline with the Navalny case.
"Suspicious coincidence of Navalny case and the final stage of Nord Stream 2 construction, which some states desperately want to be closed," he tweeted.
"I am not fond of conspiracy theories but it is obvious that the tragic events with Navalny are very timely and helpful for opponents of NS2."
AP
No comments:
Post a Comment