NATO chief: Proof shows there's no doubt Russia poisoned Navalny

GERMANY AND NATO

HAVE NOT SHOWN CIVIL SOCIETY ANY PROOF

THEY SIMPLY ASSURE US THEY HAVE PROOF

Kremlin denies poisoning Alexei Navalny; OPCW 'gravely concerned'

The Kremlin is seen in Moscow, Russia. A spokesman for President Vladimir Putin said Thursday denied culpability for the poisoning of opposition figure Alexei Navalny. 

File Photo by Yuri Gripas/UPI | License Photo

Sept. 3 (UPI) -- The Kremlin said Thursday there's no reason to blame the Russian government for the poisoning of prominent opposition figure Alexei Navalny, who is now hospitalized in Germany.

German authorities said Wednesday Navalny had been poisoned with a nerve agent in the Novichok-class group, similar to the one that nearly killed a former Russian spy and his daughter in Britain two years ago. The Novichok poison was developed decades ago by the former Soviet Union.

Navalny became sick on a flight from Siberia to Moscow on Aug. 20. Two days later, at the urging of his family and political team, he was taken to Berlin for treatment. He remained unconscious Thursday.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Thursday rejected calls for an explanation from German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russia's state-run TASS news agency reported.

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"I would choose words carefully when speaking about accusations against the Russian state because there are no accusations at the moment and there is no reason to accuse the Russian state," Peskov said. "We aren't inclined to accept any accusations in this regard."

Peskov questioned why Moscow would want to poison Navalny, a vocal opponent of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

"I cannot answer ... who could benefit from that person's poisoning," he said. "As a matter of fact, I don't think that anyone could stand to gain from that if one just takes a sober look at things.

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The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons said Thursday any use of toxins like Novichok would be considered the use of a banned chemical weapon.

"Such an allegation is a matter of grave concern," OPCW Director-general Fernando Arias said in a statement. "State Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention deem the use of chemical weapons by anyone under any circumstances as reprehensible and wholly contrary to the legal norms established by the international community."

Arias said the OPCW is following developments in the Navalny case and is ready to "engage" with and assist any parties that ask for it.

Novichok was the poison used in an attack on former double agent Sergei Skripal and his adult daughter in Salisbury, Britain, in 2018. The two eventually recovered and the poisoning was largely believed to have been ordered by the Kremlin.

The European Council on Thursday condemned the assassination attempt "in the strongest words possible," describing the Novichok chemical used as a military-grade nerve agent.

"The use of chemical weapons is completely unacceptable under any circumstances, constitutes a serious breach of international law and international human rights standards," Josep Borrell, the high representative of the EU, said in a statement. "The European Union calls for a joint international response and reserves the right to take appropriate actions, including through restrictive measures."

As the poisoning occurred on Russian soil, the Kremlin must investigate the crime, Borrell said, calling for the probe to be transparent with the aim of bringing those responsible to justice.

"Impunity must not and will not be tolerated," he said. "The European Union calls upon the Russian Federation to fully cooperate with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to ensure an impartial international investigation."

Merkel said Wednesday that Navalny was "the victim of a crime intended to silence him," and that she felt a need to "take a clear stance" against the poisoning.

Russian lawmaker Andrei Lugovoi suggested that Navalny was exposed to the poison in Germany.

"Once they have found something linked with Novichok, most likely, he was exposed to it in this clinic," he told TASS. "A nurse or a doctor could have done that if they really wanted to somehow expose Navalny to a toxic agent. I am sure this is what really happened."