Russia denies culpability in alleged poisoning of dissident Navalny

By Rachel More and Peter Spinella, dpa
Berlin/Moscow (dpa) – Russian President Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson denied on Thursday that the Russian state could have been culpable in the alleged poisoning of dissident Alexei Navalny.

“We aren’t inclined to accept any accusations in this regard,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said in comments carried by state news agency TASS. “There is no reason to accuse the Russian state,” he said.

Navalny has been one of Putin’s fiercest domestic critics over the past decade, having led several series of protests against the long-time Russian leader, whom he accuses of perpetuating widespread corruption.

Navalny is currently in a coma and is being treated in a Berlin hospital after being evacuated from the Russian city of Omsk two weeks ago. German authorities say that toxicology tests have proven that Navalny was poisoned with the Soviet-developed nerve agent Novichok.

Peskov demanded that Germany officially present its findings to Russia, saying: “So far we have received no information.”

“We are undoubtedly interested in determining the cause of what happened to the Berlin patient,” Peskov said.

Russia has previously dismissed calls to open a criminal case, with law enforcement and medical officials saying they have found no hard evidence of a poisoning.

The Russian hospital that initially treated Navalny has said his condition was most likely due to low blood sugar levels related to a metabolism problem.

Peskov has said that Russian authorities are ready to fully cooperate with Germany with regards to Navalny.

Germany has been looking to its allies to forge a joint response after it found “unequivocal” evidence of such a nerve agent attack on Navalny.

The head of the German parliament’s committee for foreign affairs, Norbert Roettgen, called on Wednesday for Europe to take a clear, tough and unified line on the issue.

“Now we have again been brutally confronted with the inhuman reality of [Russian President Vladimir] Putin’s regime,” he told the ARD public broadcaster late Wednesday.

He was speaking hours after the German government announced that Navalny had been the victim of an attack, citing the results of a toxicology test carried out by the Bundeswehr military that found traces of a chemical nerve agent from the Novichok group in Navalny’s system.

Navalny, 44, was flown to Berlin for treatment on August 22, two days after he fell ill on a domestic flight in Russia. He had been in Siberia to support opposition candidates in local elections.

German leader Angela Merkel has condemned the attack, saying it aimed “to silence him,” and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas summoned Russian ambassador Sergei Nechayev in protest, calling for a full and transparent investigation.

Merkel has said that there could be a joint response similar to the coordinated action taken following the 2018 Novichok poisoning of former Russian double agent Sergei Skripal in Britain, when 30 Western allies expelled Russian diplomats.

Navalny is currently being treated at Berlin’s Charite hospital. In its most recent statement on his condition, released on Wednesday, the hospital said Navalny was still in serious condition, although his symptoms were improving.

EU member state Italy joined Western powers on Thursday in demanding Russia conduct a thorough investigation.

Russia must “clarify quickly and transparently the responsibility of the incident,” the Italian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It expressed “deep concern and indignation about the identification by the competent German authorities of a nerve agent as the cause of the poisoning.”

Similar calls expressing solidarity with Germany’s assessment and demanding an investigation in Russia have come from the EU Commission, the United States, Britain, France, Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden, and the Western military alliance NATO.

EU Commission spokesperson Peter Stano said it was a “cowardly attack or assassination attempt,” according to comments to reporters in Brussels. Calling for an investigation, he said: “We were very clear … that we want to see those responsible to be brought to justice.”

He hinted at potential sanctions should the Russian authorities be behind the incident, but said it was too early to draw such a conclusion. “It’s difficult to speak about punishment if you don’t have the responsible at this stage,” he said.