German cabinet: completion of Nord Stream 2 should not depend on Navalny case

The German government believes that it is inappropriate to link the implementation of Nord Stream 2 with the situation around blogger Alexei Navalny, Ulrike Demmer, deputy government spokesperson and deputy head of the Press and Information Office of the Federal Government announced.

She referred to the words of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who said last week that Nord Stream 2 should be completed.

"From the Chancellor's point of view, it would be inappropriate to link this project, which is being implemented on the part of business, with the situation around Navalny, " Demmer said.

She noted that the project has "political background." In particular, according to her, it is necessary to ensure the transit of Russian gas through the territory of Ukraine, TASS reported.

Navanly was hospitalized in Omsk on August 20 after his health deteriorated rapidly during his flight from Tomsk to Moscow. In the hospital, he remained in a coma and was plugged to a ventilator. Later, he was transferred to the Charite clinic in Berlin. The Charite medics announced that they had discovered traces of intoxication. Currently, the intoxication symptoms recede, the medics say.

On Wednesday, the German Cabinet claimed that Navalny was poisoned by a substance from the notorious Novichok family. Russian Presidential Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that the Kremlin was unaware of the German authorities’ conclusions that Navalny was allegedly poisoned with the Novichok toxic agent.