OREANDA-NEWS. Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Sergey Lavrov’s visit to Berlin has been canceled. The trip was scheduled for September 15, but at the beginning of the month Germany notified the Russian Federation of a change in the visit program. Relations between Russia and Germany have deteriorated amid allegations of the poisoning of opposition leader Aleksey Navalny with the substance from the Novichok group developed in Russia. Berlin demands from Moscow to investigate the possible poisoning of Navalny, and the Russian Federation, in response, accuses Germany of refusing to dialogue and forcing an anti-Russian campaign.

“The purpose of Sergey Lavrov’s trip to the German capital turned out to be irrelevant, and the proposed format of bilateral negotiations was greatly curtailed. Against this background, a decision was made to cancel the mentioned visit,” the Foreign Ministry reported. During the trip, joint events were planned with the participation of German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, but his participation was canceled, and “only one and a half hour was given for bilateral negotiations.”