Russian, German Lawmakers To Discuss Relations In Light Of Navalny Case - Lower House

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 30th October, 2020) Russian parliamentarians will discuss with a group of German lawmakers on November 2 prospects for the relations between the two countries following the incident involving Russian opposition figure Alexey Navalny, the Russian lower house's committee on security and corruption control told Sputnik on Friday.

"On Monday, the members of the Commission on the Investigation of Foreign Interference in Russia's Internal Affairs, headed by Vasilii Piskare, will meet at the State Duma [lower house of the Russian parliament] with a group of Bundestag lawmakers, headed by Robby Schlund. The parliamentarians will continue the dialogue on prospects for the Russia-Germany relations on the backdrop of the situation with Alexey Navalny, which began during the videoconference on October 8," the committee said.

On August 20, Navalny fell ill on a domestic flight in Russia.

He was initially treated in the Siberian city of Omsk, where the plane made an emergency landing. Two days later, when the doctors determined that he was fit for cross-border aerial transportation, the politician was taken to the Berlin-based Charite hospital for further treatment.

In a statement, the German government said that doctors had found evidence of a poisonous nerve agent from the Novichok group in Navalny's body. Russia disputed these allegations, noting that its doctors had found no toxic substances in Navalny while he was treated in Omsk.

Following the incident, the European Union imposed sanctions on six Russian citizens, including Director of the Federal Security Service Alexander Bortnikov. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded by saying that the EU was acting unacceptably and that Moscow could discontinue the dialogue with Brussels.