Navalny case, Moscow expels three European diplomats, Germany summons ambassador – Corriere.it

From our correspondent
Berlin A comprehensive diplomatic and political crisis, which is the most dangerous crisis since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, which was raised by the issue Alexig Navalny Between Russia and the European Union. Yesterday, Moscow expelled three diplomats from Germany, Sweden and Poland accused of participating In the demonstrations in favor of the release of the dissidentLast Tuesday, he was sentenced to two years and eight months in prison.

It was the most spectacular and despised decision, as it was announced at a time when Joseph Borrell, the European Union’s foreign policy chief, was in the Russian capital to demand Navalny’s release. In his meeting with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, Borrell expressed European concerns about the fate of the opponent and renewed the request for an investigation into his poisoning, which occurred last summer in Siberia and in turn, clearly by Russian forces. The questions were blatantly ignored by the head of diplomacy in the Kremlin, who instead accused the European Union at the press conference of “violating human rights” and of being an “unreliable partner”.

The reaction of European advisers was immediate. Angela Merkel described the expulsion as “totally unjustified and another violation of the rule of law in Russia.” The Russian ambassador in Berlin was summoned toMinistry of Foreign Affairs, To notify a protest note. French President Emmanuel Macron, after a video conference with the chancellor, condemned the expulsion “strongly”, expressing his full solidarity with Berlin, Stockholm and Warsaw. Condemnations were also issued from Sweden and Poland, which summoned Russian envoys to their capitals. Merkel also said that regarding what is happening in Moscow, Germany and its European allies “reserve the right to enact new sanctions, especially against individuals.” But despite Macron’s requests, the chancellor reiterated that “for the time being” Germany is not changing its position in Nord Stream 2The Russian-German gas pipeline being completed under the Baltic Sea, which the United States and many other European Union countries, including France, want to cancel. Berlin is above all a commercial enterprise, which must be completed anyway. However, Merkel admitted for the first time that Nord Stream 2 also has “political ramifications and plays a major role in the transatlantic region”. He added, “Despite all the differences, it is strategically advisable to maintain contacts with Russia on many geostrategic issues.”