DISINFO: Germany organized a provocation around Navalny
SUMMARY
When Germany organised the provocation around Navalny, it did not expect such grave consequences and strict Moscow’s reaction. Berlin and the rest of the EU just followed the practices that were earlier repeatedly used by the US and UK. They are known for a series of dirty anti-Russian operations, including the Skripal case and alleged chemical attack in Syrian Douma. Whereas the US and UK are Russophobic countries and long-time geopolitical rivalries of Russia, cooperation with Moscow is extremely important for Germany and the rest of the EU. This explains why the EU countries are backing down with a new sanction round against Russia.
RESPONSE
Recurring pro-Kremlin disinformation about Alexei Navalny, Germany and Russophobia.
Russian opposition politician Alexei Navalny was poisoned with a military grade Novichok-type nerve agent during his trip in Siberia in August 2020. He was hospitalised and treated at the Charite Hospital in Berlin. In October 2o20, the EU sanctioned 6 individuals and one entity involved in the assassination attempt on Alexei Navalny.
To obfuscate responsibility for the poisoning, the pro-Kremlin media has drawn numerous parallels between Navalny and Skripal poisonings. Most of them were coupled with the usual denial: “there is no evidence that Navalny was poisoned” or that “London has no evidence of Moscow’s complicity in the Skripals’ poisoning”. Read more about this in our past analysis titled Salisbury all over again.
The European Union is not backing down. Following the visit to Moscow on 4-6 February 2021, the head of the EU foreign policy Jose Borrell stated:
"The Russian authorities did not want to seize this opportunity to have a more constructive dialogue with the EU. This is regrettable and we will have to draw the consequences."
See earlier disinformation cases alleging that only Navalny’s entourage may be interested in his death, that poisoning of Navalny is a provocation to spoil relations between Russia and Germany, that it is unclear, who really poisoned Sergei and Yuliya Skripal, and that the Douma chemical attack never had place.