The Foreign Ministry of Ukraine has issued a statement which reads, “We strongly condemn another criminal act committed by Russian authorities that continue an assault on democracy and human rights in the Russian Federation and beyond it. We are convinced that the international community must respond adequately to this inhuman reprisal by the Kremlin against the opposition politician”.
In the opinion of Ukrainian diplomats, only the united and resolute stand of the civilized world, its unanimous condemnation including new sanctions can force the authorities of Russia to stop committing crimes, brutally violating human rights and destroying legal foundations of the world order with regard to leading opposition politicians as well as whole states.
The United States also took a decisive position regarding the poisoning of the Russian opposition leader. The U.S. National Security Council came up with a statement that says, "We will work with allies and the international community to hold those in Russia accountable, wherever the evidence leads, and restrict funds for their malign activities”.
Meanwhile, the European Union takes a more cautious attitude toward the issue of introducing new sanctions against Russia. Thus, Peter Stano, European Commission spokesperson for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, said that Europe would bring up the issue of new sanctions only after a probe reveals who was responsible for the deliberate poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny. Stano noted that the perpetrators could not be established today because there is no investigation into the Navalny case going for now.
“In the European Commission we were very clear in our reaction. We want to see the culprits to be brought to justice. But for this to happen the probe into the case has to be carried out and results have to be revealed. There’s no such thing so far. That is why it is difficult to speak about punishment if you do not have those responsible at this stage”, Stano said. He believes that Russian law enforcement should look for the culprits because the incident happened in the soil of the Russian Federation.
“Russia has finally turned into an international terrorist and blackmailer. Today it intimidates the entire civilized world, ‘We can afford everything. What will you do to us? Get ready, soon you’ll have to keep silent on another occasion, too’. Their self-assurance and belief in their impunity cause fear. Let’s recall how our Western partners have responded to many crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine. ‘Yes, it’s a war crime, a violation of international law but why piss off the Russian bear?’ Putin has reconciled with his image of a dictator and an exile in the world market. And he feels quite comfortable in this role. Unfortunately, it is a new step in the opposite direction away from civilization and it is a new level of threats”. This is how well-known Ukrainian politician and analyst Taras Chornovil commented on the present cautious position of the European Union.
It is known that on August 20, Navalny fell ill during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow. Today he is in coma at the German hospital Charite. On August 24, the fact of the poisoning of the Russian opposition leader was confirmed in Germany.
On September 2, experts at a laboratory of Bundeswehr carried out toxicology tests and discovered that Navalny had been poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. So, Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was deliberately poisoned with a toxic nerve agent. As it has to be expected, the Kremlin denies all accusations in being involved in the poisoning of its most vociferous critic.
The newspaper Holos Ukrainy
