Russian President Vladimir Putin September 1 in the Kremlin.

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Mikhail Klimentyev / AP / SIPA

The standoff between Russia and Germany over the Navalny affair has only just begun.

After the announcement Wednesday by the German government that the medical examinations carried out on Alexeï Navalny brought "unequivocal proof" that the Russian opponent had been the victim of poisoning "by a nerve agent of the Novichok type", we awaited the answer from Moscow.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has also urged Moscow to explain.

The Kremlin said on Thursday that it saw "no reason" to accuse the Russian state of being at the origin of the poisoning of the opponent Alexeï Navalny and called on the West to beware of any "hasty judgment".

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov added that Moscow was ready for "dialogue" with Berlin and the Europeans in this affair.

Economic consequences?

The Russian economy woke up in shock on Thursday after Germany confirmed the poisoning of opponent Navalny, which has raised fears of further sanctions against Moscow.

The ruble plunged on Wednesday evening to its lowest level since the height of the coronavirus pandemic in the spring, and traded Thursday morning at 89 rubles for one euro and 75.4 rubles for the dollar.

The ruble has lost more than 20% of its value against the euro and the dollar since the start of the year, weighed down by the coronavirus and the oil crisis.

The Moscow stock exchange also fell on the German announcement, the RTS index, denominated in dollars, falling more than 3% at the close on Wednesday.

Thursday morning, the Russian financial market had not caught up with the losses of the day before.

Economic and financial crisis

Markets and political analysts fear further Western sanctions against Russia, on top of those imposed on Moscow since the annexation of Crimea in 2014, which helped plunge Russia into an economic and financial crisis in 2015- 2016.

For Russians, this could also have consequences on consumer prices.

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Navalny case: The state of health of the Russian opponent improves, according to the Berlin hospital which treats him

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Navalny case: Russian police launch first investigations

  • Poisoning

  • Kremlin

  • World

  • Russia

  • Germany

  • Diplomacy