Germany’s Foreign Minister, Johann Wadephul of the CDU, delivered a scathing response to the recent evidence presented by several European states that former Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was poisoned while imprisoned in Russia two years ago. He spoke to the TV channel “Welt” at the Munich Security Conference (MSC) and said, “The Russian regime shows its terrible visage again. We now have a high scientific likelihood that the death was due to a poisoning. This is, of course, a dreadful piece of news. It demonstrates that Putin cares neither for humanity nor for the legal framework, including the Chemical Weapons Convention”.
Wadephul continued that the incident illustrates Russia’s willingness to wage a war in Ukraine that violates international law and that the regime is prepared to attack civilians in that conflict. He accused Putin of not only unlawfully imprisoning his most bitter adversaries but also of killing them, an act that, according to Wadephul, must have consequences. He urged the international community, particularly the organization that oversees the Chemical Weapons Convention, to take action: “We have to defend our rule‑based order here and employ all available means”.
