Politicians and Diplomats in Germany are asking for a European response that involves the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline against Russia after the poisoning of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny with a Soviet-style Novichok nerve agent.
Chancellor Angela Merkel said she expected Moscow to join efforts to clear up what happened and that Germany wil consult its NATO allies about how to respond, raising the prospect of new Western sanctions on Russia.
Navalny is lying in intensive care in a hospital in Berlin after his flight was arranged by activists.
The German government revealed on Wednesday that a German military laboratory produced “unequivocal evidence” that he had been poisoned with Novichok.
Moscow has denied involvement in the poisoning of Navalny but promised to cooperate in investigating what happened to the longtime critic of Putin’s rule.
The Russian foreign ministry said Germany’s assertion was not backed by evidence.
Wolfgang Ischinger, chairman of the Munich Security Conference and a former ambassador to Washington, backed a joint response from the EU and NATO and said softer gestures, such as the expulsions of diplomats, may not suffice.
