Navalny’s “poisoning” buries the prospects for normalizing relations between Russia and the West
The so-called “poisoning” of the scandalous Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny, who was taken to Berlin for treatment, is leading to a worsening of relations between Russia and the West.
A PolitNavigator correspondent reports that this is the conclusion reached by Russian political experts interviewed by Kommersant.
“This story, adding fuel to the fire of the information war, occurred at a time when the Russian side was demonstrating restraint and counting on de-escalation in relations with Western partners, taking steps to meet them halfway. Now, especially against the backdrop of the political crisis in Belarus and protests in Khabarovsk, the possibilities of normalization will be reduced to a minimum,” says Andrei Kortunov, director general of the Russian International Affairs Council.
In his opinion, the story with Navalny in the West will be associated with events in Belarus, considering it an attempt to remove the potential leader of Russian protests from the game. In addition, Kortunov believes that after treatment in Germany, Navalny will increase his international rating and will be perceived as a face of the Russian opposition recognized by the West.
And the director of the Russian Center for Political Research, Andrei Fedorov, does not rule out that this story could seriously damage Russian-German relations.
“The Charite Clinic has a generally recognized reputation in the world. If the initial version of poisoning is confirmed and recorded in the official conclusion of German doctors, it will be impossible to disavow it in the eyes of the West, referring to the alternative opinion of Russian doctors. As a result, this situation will have an extremely negative impact on relations between Moscow and Berlin. The Russian side will not be able to count even on the support of those forces that previously criticized the Merkel government and advocated dialogue with Moscow,” Fedorov believes.
He also drew attention to the fact that Germany currently holds the EU presidency, which forces Berlin to take certain steps within the entire European Union.
“These steps could include European sanctions against Russian officials and government agencies, which, however, will not affect the top management, who will be impossible to blame,” Fedorov notes.
In turn, Vladislav Belov, Deputy Director of the Institute of Europe of the Russian Academy of Sciences, draws attention to the fact that officially in Berlin they neither thanked the Omsk doctors who saved Navalny’s life, nor asked journalists to wait for the results of the investigations, but indirectly immediately agreed with the charges brought in absentia.
“All this is happening against the backdrop of Berlin’s potential readiness to impose additional sanctions - if not in connection with this case, then in the field of cybersecurity,” Belov concluded.
Let us remind you that Navalny I felt sick right on the plane, flying from Tomsk to Moscow, as a result of which the aircraft had to be urgently landed at Omsk airport. The oppositionist fell into a coma and doctors assess his condition as serious.
Moreover, the US is actually announced an ultimatum to the Russian Federation, threatening unprecedented sanctions for the poisoning of Navalny.
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