German Chancellor Angela Merkel has asked Russia to respond after there was "clear evidence" that Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned. laboratory tests showed that Novichok neurotoxin, developed in the Soviet Union, was used to poison Navalny.
Prime Minister Angela Merkel, along with the EU and NATO, asked the Russian government to explain. But the Kremlin denied accusations of Alexei Navalny being poisoned and said it wanted to check the lab's results. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said that Germany will discuss with partners about "appropriate responses" in the next few days.
What is the integrated response?
According to DW, Mr. Helmut Scholz, a member of the German socialist left-wing party and the party's spokesman for foreign affairs, said that it is important to strengthen relations with Russia.
I dont think escalation and confrontation will help bilateral relations, he said, calling for cooperation and adding that the secret services of Russia and the EU should also work together more and demonstrate a commensurate sense of responsibility.
Meanwhile, German House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Commissioner Norbert Röttgen has called for sanctions and an end to the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project - a controversial project that has completed up to 90% of its operations to directly transport gas from Russia to Germany.
Alexander Graf Lambsdorff from the FDP told DW that it would be meaningless to completely end the project, but said there should be a "tempted postponement" until the Navalny case is resolved.
Mr. Lambsdorff pointed out that Russia will not suffer great damage if the pipeline is not completed. The gas will still be sold to Western customers - those in need - but it is only transported through other existing pipelines.
"Spending the way" to put pressure on Russia
Hans-Hening Schröder of the Institute for Eastern European Studies at the Free University of Berlin said: We must remember that the EU and Germany have little way to actually put pressure on Russia. He told DW that the only real impact would be if Germany and the EU stopped importing Russian gas. "But that is not practical because it will be extremely expensive and require a huge reorganization of logistics work."
According to the European Commission, oil and gas exports from Russia to the EU have increased in recent years despite rising tensions, with half of Germany's gas supplies coming from Russia.
Oliver Hermes, chairman of Germany's Eastern Economic Commission, argued: "It would be a mistake to retaliate against the Alexei Navalny dociture with further economic sanctions, which would affect companies and citizens of Russia not involved in the incident."
symbolic sanctions are not very effective
More than 150 Russian diplomats have been deported from the US and the European Union, as well as other NATO countries and Ukraine, following the poisoning of former Russian intelligence officer Sergei Skripal and his daughter in the UK in 2018. In response, Russia deported 189 diplomats, most of whom were from the UK and the US. But it is difficult to say exactly what this will do in practice.
S sanctions imposed after events in Crimea and Ukraine, such as banning some people from entering a country and freezing their accounts, are symbolic, Schrider said. They didn't change much in the relationship.
EU member states have repeatedly and agreed to extend sanctions imposed on Russian individuals in the Ukraine conflict. However, the EU still does not have much consensus on a common approach, so it is applied to Russia.
French President Emmanuel Macron has tried to maintain "special relations" with the Kremlin and has met with Russian President Vladimir Putin more than any other EU-led politician on geopolitical issues such as Syria and Libya.
On its official website, the Italian popular government declared it had "good and positive relations" with Russia. The same thing happened to Austria, which the government considers a mediator between Russia and the West, although a recent spiel scandal has somewhat dried up bilateral relations.
However, eastern EU member states tend to speak more about their concerns about Russia. For example, the Baltic countries and Poland have had little praise for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project.
