Debate on Murder of the Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov and the state of democracy in Russia - Main contents
Johannes Cornelis van Baalen, on behalf of the ALDE Group: Mr President, Boris Nemtsov was our man. His party belongs to the ALDE family, but he is a man we do not claim for ourselves: he belongs to all of us. He - like many others - wanted to make Russia a better place.
Mikhail Kasyanov was here - also a dear friend - and he was quite clear: we in this Parliament should not look into the mirror and say that we have made mistakes or that the enlargement of NATO was a mistake because it provoked Putin.
No, that is nonsense. NATO has brought shelter to the countries in Eastern Europe which are now members of the organisation. Also, Putin knows that ‘it stops’ over there.
So the enlargement of NATO did not incite Putin’s policy, which is a long-term policy of crippling the neighbouring countries and of restoring the influence, at least, of the former Soviet Union. It is also about restoring an absence of the rule of law because, even if you do not like a politician, you should respect him or her and that politician should be safe. If you declare that they are enemies of the state, and if a person like Ramzan Kadyrov says that enemies of the state will face a bleak future, that means that you hate democracy and you make it impossible for Russia - a great nation, whose people we love and respect - to have a relaxed and normal relationship with other people.
The international dimension and the internal dimension come together here. It is up to Putin to make sure that those who killed Nemtsov are brought to real justice and that everything is done to clear up this situation. What we should do is to talk with Russians and with human rights organisations because, on the one hand, we have sanctions - and they should stay - but, on the other hand, we are reaching out to the ordinary people in Russia.