Official: Germany can sanction Russia over Navalny case

BERLIN/MOSCOW, Sep 2 (PRIME) – The parliamentary faction of Germany's Christian Democratic Union / Christian Social Union (CDU/CSU) does not rule out new sanctions against Russia over suspected poisoning Alexei Navalny, Jurgen Hardt, speaker for foreign affairs, said on Wednesday.

He said that the faction sees the evidence of poisoning of Navalny sufficient to prove the involvement of the Russian government in production of the substance. "Germany must formulate a joint position on Russia with the other states of the E.U, which would not rule out new sanction steps. We wish Alexei Navalny a rapid and full recovery," Hardt said.

Russian Senator Alexei Kondratyev said that the statements about poisoning of Navalny are a provocation aimed at stopping Russia's Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline project.

"The Americans have long insisted that Germany abandon Nord Stream-2,” he said, adding that a pretext for the abandonment  has now been found. 

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