Alexander van der Bellen
Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen opposed blocking the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline because of the case of Alexei Navalny. Reported by Reuters.
In Vienna's opinion, Nord Stream 2 is a commercial project, so it should be discussed by trade partners. Van der Bellen also believes that the fate of the pipeline should be decided in Europe, not Washington.
In September, the German authorities did not rule out a change in attitude towards the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and the introduction of sanctions against it because of the situation around Navalny. However, the authorities have not yet begun to link these events officially. At the same time, many German politicians call on Chancellor Angela Merkel to suspend the construction of the gas pipeline or completely abandon it. For example, Friedrich Merz, a candidate for the post of leader of Germany's ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party, called for a moratorium for two years.
Navalny got sick on the morning of August 20 during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow, the plane urgently landed in Omsk. On August 22, the oppositionist was taken to a Berlin clinic. German doctors conducted a study and announced that the patient was poisoned with the poison of the Novichok group, but Russian doctors did not find any poison in Navalny's body. In September, the patient was brought out of an artificial coma.
Initially, the Nord Stream 2 export gas pipeline was supposed to be commissioned at the end of 2019, but the launch date had to be postponed for a year due to US restrictions.
