Berlinb – Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny should give testimony, related to the probe into his alleged poisoning, in Germany, since the country should do everything to assist Russia’s investigation, a top German lawmaker has said.
Klaus Ernst, the head of the German parliament’s energy and economy committee, said this in an interview with Sputnik.
The New York Times has reported that Navalny, who is now undergoing treatment in Berlin, has told a German prosecutor he would not cooperate with Russia in the Moscow-proposed joint investigation.
“Germany should do everything to support the investigation that Russia must conduct.
“In my opinion, Navalny’s testimony is also part of this probe,” Ernst, who is also a member of The Left party, said.
He said Germany’s rejection of a derogation request by Russia over the Nord Stream 2 project for carrying Russian gas to Europe would change the quality of the Russian-German partnership.
Germany’s regulator BNetzA intends to reject a derogation request that would allow Russian Gazprom full access to Nord Stream 2 – an offshore pipeline that will double Russia’s direct pipeline capacity to Germany to 110 billion cubic meters (bcm) per year.
According to Ernst, the bilateral energy cooperation should not be used as a pressure instrument in the situation with Russian opposition figure Navalny.
“I certainly believe it would be a wrong move by the federal document to implement measures to stop the project.
“Energy partnership with Russia was established in the days when Germany’s relations with Russia — the Soviet Union back then — were much worse than now.
“These were the Cold War days. Our energy partnership has successfully overcome all the crises, as it serves the interests of both sides.
“By the way, neither Russia nor Germany have ever used gas export as a pressure instrument.
“If it is done today, the quality (of relations) will change dramatically.
“I can only warn the sides against it,” Ernst said. (Sputnik/NAN)