The Gulf Time Newspaper One of the finest business newspapers in the UAE brought to you by our professional writers and editors.
Bloomberg
Angela Merkel and her European allies are preparing to
retaliate against Vladimir Putin’s government over the poisoning of one of his top critics but their plans may not make much of an impression on the Kremlin.
Although countermeasures are all but inevitable, the European Union action may consist of asset freezes and travel bans for Russian officials, according to officials familiar with the discussions. The almost-completed Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, Putin’s real weak point, is likely to be spared,
officials said.
Taking action against security officials would have limited impact in Moscow, although it would be “painful†if major business figures and top officials were targeted, said Ivan Timofeev, an expert from the Russian International Affairs Council, a Kremlin-founded
research group.
The finding by the top global chemical-weapons watchdog that a banned nerve agent
from the Novichok family had been used to poison Alexey Navalny puts the onus on EU policymakers to take action against Putin.
“Any use of chemical weapons is a grave act and cannot go without consequences,†Merkel’s chief spokesman
Steffen Seibert said after the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons published its conclusions.